


Lovesick

by BarkingHime (JadeHarleaf)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, and gabriel has a fear of hospitals, basically jack is rly sick, more tags will be added, sick!Jack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 10:28:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 32,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7711501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeHarleaf/pseuds/BarkingHime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern AU where Jack is hospital bound with CKD and Gabriel becomes his personal delivery boy.</p><p>(Changed the title cause I wasn't a huge fan of the original one :/ sorry it's a bit late but ye!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Woaaaah! First time I've written anything in a while, like 4 months? Anyways, also my first Overwatch fic! It's nothing compared to the super amazing fics I've seen come from this fandom, but I hope some of you enjoy it.
> 
> There's not much Spanish in this chapter with the exception of abuela, which I think is pretty commonly known to mean grandmother. Sorry it's a bit slow, things'll speed up in the next few chapters. 
> 
> i might change the title idk i was just listening to Bitter and Sick by One Two lmao

Gabriel had never known Jack Morrison all that well. Jack had always been a friend of a friend, he'd been mentioned a few times by Lena and Amélie, but he'd never actually met the guy. All Gabriel knew about Jack Morrison was that he was kind, blonde, and he'd constantly been in and out of the hospital for the past 4 years. Judging from what Lena had told him, he was currently in the hospital again. Lena had invited Gabriel to join her and Amélie to visit Jack in the hospital multiple times, but he declined. He didn't even know Jack, and hospitals always had a tendency to make Gabriel feel sick. He'd known about Jack Morrison since he was a freshman in college, and he was just now about to meet him. It took some persuasion from Lena at first, her and Amélie had come down with the flu and couldn't deliver Jack's daily dose of sweets. That's how things worked with them, if one got sick the other wasn't far behind. They just couldn't keep away from each other. He was reluctant, complaining that Jesse or someone else would enjoy it much more than Gabriel. He couldn't admit that he, Gabriel Reyes, was terrified of hospitals. He only complied when Lena began to do her irritatingly shrill pouty voice, which was followed up by a list of foods that Jack had requested and things that were strictly prohibited due to Jack's condition, which was kidney failure. Gabriel took pity on the kid, hospitals sucked. The rooms were incredibly bland, the food sucked, and actually being the one hooked up to the machines didn't seem to be the greatest position to be in either. He stopped by his apartment to pick up a small plastic bag containing 4 churros made by his abuela, a bit of a loss but it wasn't like she wouldn't make more. He figured it’d be a nice thing to do for a kid with shitty kidneys and extremely bland food requests. Not that Gabriel cared what Jack thought of him, if anything, he expected Jack Morrison to be a middle-aged soccer dad who enjoyed to play golf on the weekends. He didn’t expect Jack Morrison to be a boy his age who was prettier than any girl he’d set eyes on.

 

~

 

Gabriel could feel nausea set into the pit of his stomach as he wandered the halls, he couldn’t help but peer into the rooms. Something he knew would be a mistake, because he’d ended up throwing up on the spot. A few nurses rushed over to help, insisting he check in. He politely declined, grabbing the grocery bags he had dropped in the midst of his inhumane gagging and hurrying on his way. He swore, Lena was going to get an earful after this. He would never be doing this again, it almost encouraged him to become a healthier person so he’d never have to cross paths with a hospital ever again. He figured he’d be realistic and just wish for the best instead.

 

He couldn’t remember Jack’s room number for the life of him, at the time, he was drowning out Lena’s rambling with his thoughts of his irrational fear of hospitals. Room 306, that sounded familiar. He stopped in front of the door, taking an exasperated sigh before he hesitantly creaked open the door, revealing an older woman giving him a glare.

 

“S-sorry uh, wrong room” Gabriel stuttered, quickly slamming the door shut. That was definitely not Jack Morrison, unless Jack Morrison was actually a 70-year-old woman who probably hated Gabriel’s ear piercings and made unseasoned chicken for dinner every night. He let out an exasperated sigh, if he had to stay in this building any longer he might actually _need_ to be admitted. He felt like such a child, it was perhaps the dumbest fear to have. In his defense, it had a reason behind it. Something he preferred not to think about. Lena had texted him after that awkward encounter, reminding him that the room number was 603. He groaned, terrible timing. He chose to walk the 3 flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator, he was still nauseous from his extremely embarrassing scene on the third floor. He took a moment to recompose himself, staring out a large window that took up most of the northern facing wall, snowflakes were staring to fall. _“Why the hell is it snowing? It’s only November”_ Gabriel thought to himself, he shook his head and moved on, making his way to the sixth floor. He was almost nervous to meet Jack, Lena had portrayed him as this perfect boy scout who could never do wrong and was also “quite the looker!” according to the girl. Not like it would matter, Gabriel was straight and probably wouldn’t see Jack again after their brief meeting.

 

He didn’t even care to knock on Jack’s door, obviously not learning his lesson from last time. Luckily, it actually was Jack this time, or at least a guy who looked exactly like what Lena had described.

 

Jack peered around the corner from his bed, flashing a toothy grin at Gabriel. “You’re Gabe right? Lena said you’d be by.” Gabriel ambled his way towards Jack, he noticed a large machine next to the bed, two tubes leading out to Jack’s right arm, both crimson red. Gabriel could feel the nausea returning, and Jack could see it almost as clearly. “Woah, do you need to sit down? You look sicker than me!” He said jokingly, wavering him over to the chair on his left. “Come on, sit before you throw up on any medical equipment” Jack tossed him a shallow, empty bucket. Gabe looked down hesitantly at it, “Oh relax!” Jack said with a laugh, “It’s perfectly unused.” After Gabriel sat down, the bucket was no longer unused. He found himself even more embarrassed than he was in the hallway, and it was likely because of what Jack had mentioned before. He really did look sicker than Jack. Actually, Jack Morrison didn’t look sick at all. He looked healthier than an average person. His eyes were the exact opposite of dull, lively and almost too-blue. And for the love of christ, his hair must contain at least a carat of gold.

 

For someone so sick, he looked so... _pretty_.

 

After Gabriel recollected himself, he handed Jack the grocery bag. “Everything you requested, and I threw in some churros too.” Jack perked up like a puppy at the word, “You brought churros?! You’re much nicer than Lena lets on!” Gabriel huffed at the remark, “Lena doesn’t know what she’s talking about, I’m a constant fucking delight.” Jack chuckled and split opened the plastic bag, taking a bite of the pastry.

 

“Much better than the soggy ones they sometimes give us!” He said happily, Gabriel grinned in satisfaction, “A Reyes’ family recipe, not sure how old it is, but makes a damn good churro.”

 

“You should bring more next time.”

 

Gabriel simply blinked, next time. He wasn’t planning on a next time, he wasn’t even planning on a stay longer than 2 minutes and he’d been there for nearly 15. Gabriel nodded on instinct, not really giving himself much of a choice. Jack smiled, “Good! Now, might I ask why you walked into the room and hurled? Do I really look that terrible?”

 

“No, just the opposite.”

 

Oh god. What the hell was that? _Just the opposite?_ Jack burst out in laughter as Gabriel buried himself in his sweatshirt hood. “That’s not what I meant.” He grumbled, Jack still continuing to laugh. He wiped his eyes, “Okay, okay, I’m done, but seriously, why did you get sick?” Gabriel shrugged, “Not the biggest fan of hospitals, I guess.” Jack nodded, “I get that, I wasn’t either til I started practically living in one.” He jokingly patted the side of the rather large machine beside him, “I call him Bastion.” Gabriel snorted, “What kind of a name is that?” Jack laughed and dug through the grocery bag, looking for more food. “One that a kidney dialysis machine would have, obviously.” Gabriel hadn’t noticed that he’d spent another hour with Jack, cracking bad jokes and making fun of his name choice for his dialysis machine. He hadn’t noticed the snow had begun to pile up outside until he had to leave for his shift at work, he hated driving through the snow, but he almost considered his extended stay with Jack to be worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to post a second chapter, I couldn't wait! ;p

_ "Mama, why does Sofíe look like that?" _

 

_ "Sofía is very sick, mijo." _

 

_ He stared blankly at the girl, resting peacefully on the hospital bed. It wasn't the first time she'd been here, she was in and out a lot since they'd found the tumor almost a year back. _

 

_ She didn't look like his older sister anymore, she looked like a stranger. Her thick raven hair that normally framed her face, that Gabriel had attempted to braid on multiple occasions, that tangled so easily, it was gone. The rosiness of her cheeks had left with it, leaving only hollow cheeks and blue tinted skin. _

 

_ "Will she be okay?" _

 

_ His mother rubbed circles in the palm of his hand, using the pad of her thumb. "Pray for her, Gabriel." was all that she had said, leaving the boy dumbfounded. He was 6 years old at the time, he didn't know exactly what cancer meant. He had no idea that he'd lost his sister as soon as she stepped foot in that hospital or, it was more of a roll into the hospital on a gurney. She'd had a stroke, caused by a bleeding brain tumor. Glioblastoma was what they called it, extremely  aggressive and the cells inside the tumor were dividing, and fast. As a child, he had no idea what any of that meant, but he did as he was told and prayed. He prayed every night for her, he prayed for her at church, and he prayed for her whenever he had the opportunity to. He thought it had worked, at least the evening before. She seemed to be more of herself, Gabriel sat beside her on her bed as she read him books he'd specifically picked out. Even after they'd run out, he refused to leave her side. He'd ended up staying the night there with his mother, she had another stroke in the middle of the night. Gabriel watched her die, and he had no idea what to do.  _

 

_ He watched her die. _

 

_ He watched her die.  _

 

~

 

He shook his head at the memory, gritting his teeth as he wiped down the table. The stench of a cigar trailed behind him, he clenched his eyes shut and cursed at himself in Spanish. He knew exactly who that could be, he only knew one person with a cringeworthy South-Western accent that had actually worn a cowboy hat and said howdy unironically. He glared back over his shoulder, Jesse giving him a smirk before removing the cigar from his lips.

 

“Mornin’, pardner.”

 

“Fuck off.”

 

“Think ya’ve wiped down that table enough?”

 

“Didn’t I already tell you to fuck off?”

 

Jesse slapped Gabriel on the back with a chuckle, taking another drag from his cigar. “Aren’t you just a bundle o’ joy?” The only reason why Gabriel hadn’t socked Jesse in the face is because he’d actually like to keep this job. It was close to his apartment, Amélie worked there, and it paid surprisingly well for a guy who simply took orders and scrubbed down tables. The downside? Jesse worked there. Gabriel had to admit Jesse was somewhat of a friend figure to him, but he still pissed him off to no end with that goddamn accent. He snarled at him, “Don’t you have a Japanese guy to stick your dick in?” Jesse smirked, “Not at the moment, Hanzo’s too tired from last night to go for round 4.” Gabriel clenched his stomach and feigned a gag, “Say anything else and I’m going to hurl on this table that I just spent 10 minutes getting the shit off of.” 

 

It was almost sickening how sweet Jesse and Hanzo were together, they were like Lena and Amélie in the sense of, if you saw one, the other usually wasn’t far behind. It was hard to find a time in which Jesse wasn’t pressing kisses to Hanzo’s jaw and practically clinging onto him like a sloth. Did Gabriel even have a single friend that wasn’t gay and didn’t dry hump their significant other every chance they got? The answer, probably not. Gabriel wasn’t looking for a relationship in any means, but god did it annoy him how eternally single he was. He was such a fucking catch. Jesse eventually wandered off when his boyfriend entered the small restaurant, leaving Gabriel to let out a sigh of relief. Peace and quiet. He thought, but his thoughts quickly drifted to Jack. It'd been 2 weeks since he'd first met him at the hospital, he'd been visiting ever since. Lena no longer had to ask him to be Jack's delivery boy. A downside of Jack Morrison was his inability to sleep at a decent hour, and the fact Gabriel let him coax his number out of him. He thought back on the short text conversation they'd had the night before. 

 

_ gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabe. _

 

_ gaaaaaabe im boooooored _

 

_ can you bring more churros? _

 

_ for the love of fucking christ jack its 4 am _

 

_ but im bored _

 

_ read a fucking book _

 

_ the only book here is about colon cancer _

_  
_ _ WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE A BOOK ABOUT COLON CANCER _

 

_ i dont know _

 

_ omfg theres a friends marathon on _

 

_ holy shit gabe this is the best thing thats happened to me since i moved up on the transplant list _

 

_ morrison go the fuck to sleep or im going to kick you in the dick _

 

_ is that a promise daddy? ;) _

 

_ im going to poison your churros _

 

Jack Morrison drove him insane, especially with the sheer amount of 2-4 AM texts he sent Gabriel that usually made little to no sense. They must have had him on some strong ass painkillers. Jack didn’t text him during the day however, Dr. Ziegler made a note to Gabriel that Jack normally slept throughout the mornings and afternoons unless it was a day Gabriel was visiting. Ever since Gabriel started going to see Jack, he noticed his fear of hospitals had started to submerge. He still seemed to get nauseous around the Oncology ward, but he had managed to get through the hallways without vomiting. Jack would give him a thumbs up every time he made it to his room, vomit free. 

 

Gabriel’s next visit to see Jack was incredibly different than the last few, when he entered Jack’s room. He wasn’t greeted with Jack’s normal plea for churros or panera bread, but rather gagging noises. He turned around the corner to see Jack, actually looking as sick as he is. Droplets of sweat were building up above his brow, blonde hair sticking to his forehead, skin having lost all color, and dark circles had formed under blue eyes that had the same sparkle to them as they did two weeks ago. He attempted to sit up, giving a pained smile at Gabriel. Dr. Ziegler was currently administering something to his IV drip, Gabriel turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow.She’d noted Gabriel’s presence and gave him a wave, “I can tell that you’re wondering Gabriel, Jack became septic after his last course of hemodialysis he had a few days ago, he had a high fever that we’ve managed to reduce, he’ll likely be fine but as you see, we must administer antibiotics.” Gabriel nodded, taking a seat by Jack’s bed. He was lying on his side, face aiming towards a bucket. Blue eyes gazed up at Gabriel, Jack mouthed a greeting before throwing up again, Gabriel sighed and pushed Jack’s hair up off his forehead, making a small disgusted noise at the sweat that had been transferred to his hand. 

 

“You better shower after all of this or I’m never visiting you again.” He said, standing up and heading over to the sink to wash his hands. Jack dramatically whined, “You better keep visiting me, Lena doesn’t let me get bread bowls from Panera!” Gabriel grinned, “How evil could I be to keep the gringo from his precious Panera?” Jack shot finger guns at him before puking again, Gabriel felt bad for thinking that was perhaps the most hilarious thing he’d seen in awhile. Dr. Ziegler gave the two of them a stern look, “Jack, you know you shouldn’t be eating stuff like that. You must keep track of your diet!” Jack sighed, “Can we talk about this when I’m not hurling out my useless kidneys?” Gabriel snorted, with Angela just giving out a huff. “Tomorrow I’m going to be monitoring your dialysis closely, please make sure not to mess with the area to avoid another infection. The fever and vomiting might last another few days however.” 

 

Jack groaned, slinging an arm off the bed. “I know the drill, Angie. You’re gonna ask Gabe to stay with me for the next few days to keep an eye on me when you’re not here in case something else happens.” Angela went silent and nodded, turning to face Gabriel. “Do you think you could handle that?” Gabriel felt his throat close up a bit, he knew it’d be difficult with his stupid fear of hospitals but Jack’s puppy dog eyes weren’t exactly giving him a choice in the matter. He'd rather throw up a few times than have something bad happen to Jack because no one was there to watch him, “I guess I can ask Amélie to cover my shifts for the next few days, I’ll need to pick up some things though.” Jack grinned, “Is this a sleepover?”

 

“Yes, a really lame sleepover where I make sure your ass doesn’t die in your sleep.” 

 

“That’s the best kind of sleepover!”

At least he knew Jack probably wouldn't be asleep if he started panicking again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hospital sleepovers, where Gabriel probably won't be able to sleep because hospitals are fucking loud and Jack doesn't know how to sleep when it's dark out


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! i just wanted to let you all know that regarding comments, if i don't respond to them please please please don't think i'm ignoring y'all or anything like that. i have perhaps the worst anxiety and i get too scared to read comments ;^; 
> 
> chapter 3: jack morrisons obsession with panera bread and mccree loves his boyfriend

"Amélie, I swear I'll make it up to you. I'll let you and Lena fuck on the kitchen counter."   
  
"I was going to say yes anyways but no take backs, Gabi."   
  
Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose, he'd called Amélie as soon as Angela had left to tend to another patient. He was expecting more of a fight from the woman about it, but she was surprisingly understanding about it. "Don't wanna stop you from sucking off your boyfriend for 2 days straight." He could hear Lena's giggle in the background as Gabriel gripped his phone, "Not my boyfriend" He growled, his gaze shifting towards Jack who was sound asleep. "I'm not gay and I don't know if he is either."   
  
"Oh he's extremely gay, love!" He heard Lena say, "Ask him about the cornfields!" Amélie laughed at her girlfriend's remark. "Gabe, don't you think it's a bit ironic that just about all of your friends are gay or bisexual? It's almost like you are gravitating towards us for a reason." He rolled his eyes, "How about you gravitate towards my dick and suck it."    
  
"I don't do sausage burritos, ami."    
  
Gabriel scoffed before hanging up on the girl, sausage burrito, what kind of disgrace was that? Some white people McDonalds crap that's what. Gazing over towards the blonde, he noticed Jack began to stir, currently face down on the mattress, making a noise similar to a groan. Gabriel scooted his chair closer to him, tapping him on the back. "Güero, I'm going to pick up dinner, you want anything?"    
  
"Panera" He muttered, letting out another groan.    
  
Gabriel had known his answer already, but he mainly just wanted to check if Jack was actually alive or not. Jack always wanted the same thing whenever Gabriel went to go get food, he had his order memorized. Cream of chicken and wild rice soup in a bread bowl, four dinner rolls, strawberry parfait, and a grapefruit soda. He had no idea what it was with white people and Panera Bread, but Jack seemed to really enjoy it. How he wasn't obese by now, Gabriel will always wonder. He himself settled on whatever the cafeteria was serving, he definitely wasn't as picky of an eater as Jack was. Jack wanted what he wanted, when he wanted, it was possible he was even more stubborn than Gabriel. 

Jack scarfed down his dinner like it was the first time he’d eaten anything in years, although, he had likely just thrown up a week's worth of food only a few hours before. Gabe could tell he was definitely feeling better, he currently had his nose in a Captain America comic book Jack requested during Gabriel’s brief shopping trip. Not only was Jack Morrison an Eagle Scout, he was also kind of a nerd that bore a resemblance to Steve Rogers. Gabriel was almost positive he was a bigger dweeb than Jesse McCree, and that truly said a lot. He looked like a child on Christmas flipping through the pages, it’d probably been awhile since Jack had ever watched or read something mildly interesting, there weren’t very many channel options and the only book he had was that godforsaken book on colon cancer that neither seemed to have any idea where it came from.

 

“Try not to piss yourself out of excitement Morrison, I know Steve Rogers gets you all hot and bothered but you still have a visitor.” Gabriel teased, Jack stuck his tongue out at him, grabbing the pillow from under his head to playfully cast it at him. “Aw, are you jealous?” Jack retorted, Gabriel dramatically sighed, placing the back of his hand on his forehead. “Oh yes, whatever will I do without Jack Morrison’s full attention? Woe is me.” 

 

Gabriel’s phone suddenly vibrated, it was Jesse, he knew it was Jesse because Jesse McCree couldn’t wait 3 damn seconds for a response without blowing up his phone even more.

 

_ gabe _

 

_ gabe _

 

_ gabe _

 

_ gaaabe _

 

_ partner _

 

_ gabe gabe gabe gabe gabe gabe _

 

_ jesus fuck jesse what the hell do you want _

 

_ can hanzo and i visit ur boyfriend _

 

_ hes not my fucking boyfriend and why the hell is it ur first instinct to ask me instead of jack _

 

_ idk _

 

_ i dont have jacks number and i just wanted to make sure there werent any hospital blowjobs going on _

 

_ you’re fucking disgusting _

 

_ so can we _

 

_ ill ask jack _

 

Jack raised an eyebrow, “You look kind of irritated, everything alright?” Gabriel groaned, placing his phone on his lap before rubbing his temples. “It was just Jesse, he wanted to know if it was alright if he and Hanzo came to visit.” Jack shrugged, “I guess, but I don’t see what’s so bad about that.”

 

Gabriel wasn’t completely sure if he wanted to explain the conversation to Jack, but Jack didn’t give him much of a choice when he swiftly grabbed the cellphone from his lap. Gabriel bit his lip as Jack scrolled through his phone, stifling a laugh. “Aw, were you gonna give me a blowjob?” Jack said, tossing his phone back into Gabe’s lap. Gabriel scrunched his nose and shook his head, “In your dreams,  _ pendejo. _ ” Jack feigned pouting and crossed his arms, “You would’ve been the best friend in the wooorld!” He said dramatically, Gabriel snickering back at him. “I bring you bland ass white people food everyday without a complaint but suddenly I’m not the best friend when I refuse to suck your dick?” Jack nodded, “Yep!”

 

_ jack said you guys can visit but now he’s pouting that i refused him a blowjob _

 

_ priceless, we’ll be over soon _

 

~

 

Jesse made sure his entrance was duly noted, he swung open the door, the handle slamming against the wall. Jack winced as Gabriel rolled his eyes, Jesse giving out a grin. “If it ain’t Jack Morrison!” He stomped over, Hanzo’s light steps following behind. Jesse gave Jack a pat on the shoulder, “How are those kidneys doin’?” Jack laughed and shook his head, “Terrible as usual” Jack’s gaze set on the smaller man behind Jesse and waved, “Hi Hanzo! It’s been a while.” Jack said happily, Hanzo nodded in his direction, “You’re looking well, Jack.” Gabriel could’ve sworn he saw a ghost of a smile on Hanzo’s lips. “And if it ain’t my second favorite person in the whole damn world!” Jesse said, giving Gabriel a slap on the back. Gabriel muttered something in Spanish, Jesse chuckling in response. Jack wavered them over to the couch by the window, “I notice your hair’s down Hanzo, mighty cold outside I assume?” 

 

Mighty cold. It sounded like something Jesse would say, but yet it sounded...kind of cute coming from Jack. 

 

Jesse nodded, “Mighty cold indeed!” Jesse slung an arm around Hanzo, “No need to get all worked up ‘bout him though, my sugar won’t go cold on my watch.” He placed a kiss on Hanzo’s cheek, “You’re so foolish” was the response he’d gotten back, emitting a snort from Gabriel. “Aw, that’s sweet! I’ve asked Angela to let me outside a few times, but she says it wouldn’t be good to do that much moving around.” Gabriel shrugged, “Just tell her that I wheel you around or something.” 

 

“Well ain’t that sweet of ya, Gabe.” Jesse gushed, “Has Jack here shown ya the light?” 

 

“Fuck no, my soul remains as dark and cold as it was 5 years ago.”

 

Jack snickered, “So edgy.” 

 

The rest of the night was Jesse subtly teasing Gabriel about Jack, Hanzo ever so often letting out a stifled laugh. Jesse had smuggled in a bottle of whisky, something that Hanzo openly scolded him for. Gabriel shamelessly accepted Jesse’s offer of a drink, Jack was forced to decline. It didn’t feel as though they were in a hospital anymore, it seemed as if they were having a normal night out at a bar or something. Drinks and laughter filled the room, even Angela’s lecturing to Jesse for bringing in alcohol didn’t ruin the mood. Even long after Jesse and Hanzo had left, Jack and Gabriel still spent a couple more hours talking aimlessly about whatever came to mind.

 

Gabriel had passed out at 11, but didn’t sleep for very long. 

  
  


~

 

Panting.

 

Panting was all Gabriel heard when his eyes fluttered open. The room was dark, with the exception of a sliver of light coming from a crack in the door. He tried to look around for Jack, but he still couldn’t see a damn thing. The panting only grew louder, it sounded pained. Sounds of chattering began to arise as well, Gabriel stumbled up from the couch, attempting to make his way to Jack’s bed. He fumbled to find the lamp switch, taking a few moments for him to turn on the light. As the room illuminated, so did Jack’s pained eyes. His face was flushed, rolled onto his side and clenching onto the mattress. He was shaking, sweat building up on his forehead. It reminded him of earlier that day, only much much worse. “Jesus Jack…” Jack shakily let out a breath as Gabriel placed his hand on his forehead, “Fuck you’re burning up” He quickly looked to his monitor, 105. 

 

_ Shit  _

  
Jack opened his mouth, “Get Angela” was all he managed to mutter out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooooooooh cliff hanger, well not really. last chapter kind of explained that this might happen again
> 
> anyways, by the way! if ur ever interested or wanna contact me, heres my tumblr! http://barking-hime.tumblr.com
> 
> stay frosty kiddos <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters likely won't come out in 2 a day once the story progresses, but I had to publish another one because I wanted to  
> give one of my best friends Kat a shoutout birthday chapter! Happy birthday doll! I'm so excited to lose so much sleep when we play  
> Overwatch together, also super excited to cosplay with you at Animazement ;p 
> 
> I made this fluffy for you pal because the Kat and Sky duo is known for its love of fluff, also...does Jack's little sister and her boyfriend  
> seem a bit familiar to you? ;) (Probably not to anyone but Kat and maybe Alice if she decides to read this)
> 
> Anyways, not much happens but at the same time, something kind of important does happen.

"A nurse had turned off your alarms before you went to sleep, which is why the alarm for your high temperature didn't go off. Had Gabriel not woken up, it's very possible your fever could've gotten worse. He might've saved your life, or at least have saved you from brain damage had it gotten any higher."

 

Jack sighed, gaze shifting towards Gabriel. His arms were crossed on the edge of Jack's bed, head resting upon them. He couldn't remember much from the last few hours, he had been pretty delirious. The only things that came to mind was a rush of heat, like he'd been burning, another sudden rush of cold, and someone gripping onto his hand. "I'll be back in half an hour to check back on your temperature, you're still running a slight fever but it's much better than before." Angela softly shut the door on her way out, Jack hadn't even noticed she'd left, he was truthfully too busy admiring a peacefully sleeping Gabriel. He was incredibly happy to have Gabriel in his company almost constantly, but he knew that Gabriel, despite how tough he seemed, didn't have the capacity to put up with the shit storm that would eventually come. Kidney dialysis was only a bandaid, not a solution. That band aid would slowly start to lose it's stick and eventually fall off. He'd been waiting almost five years for a kidney transplant, about a year and a half longer than the average person. There'd come a time when Jack would face the fact that he was going to die. He'd stop the treatments and Jack would be gone. He knew there was a reason behind Gabriel's fear of hospitals, and he knew it was a big one. 

 

He ran his fingers through Gabriel's hair, threading through his soft raven curls. The sleeping man made a noise similar to a sigh, Jack felt himself flush, and it wasn’t because of a fever this time. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Gabriel, in the romantic sense at least. When Amélie had shown him a picture of Gabriel a while back, he had to admit he was highly attractive. Jack was almost positive that Gabriel was straight however, Amélie had joked that he was just closeted, but he knew that wasn’t true. Gabriel started to squirm under his touch and Jack quickly retracted his hand, grabbing ahold of his comic book and acting as if he’d been reading the entire time. Gabriel lifted his head up, black hair perfectly disheveled by sleep and Jack’s brushing. He glanced over at Jack, who could feel his cheeks start to heat up again. “Were you just stroking my hair?” Jack sighed and nodded, “Kind of by instinct, I could tell you were having a nightmare or something. It was something I used to do to my little sister when she had night terrors as a kid, I guess I kind of miss it sometimes, she lives in Chicago with her boyfriend now.” Jack lied, hoping that Gabriel actually was having a nightmare by coincidence. He snorted in response, “You’re such a sap, Morrison.” Jack laughed, “Yeah, I guess I kind of am. I’ll try to keep my paws to myself.” He teased

 

“I didn’t say you had to stop”

 

Jack’s eyes widened, now  _ that  _ was something he didn’t expect. Despite the fact he felt like a schoolgirl with a crush on the inside, he played it off like it was funny. “Has the dark and brooding Gabriel Reyes fallen for my euphoric scalp massaging abilities?” He teased, Gabriel rolled his eyes and placed his head back on his arms as Jack reached over to comb his thick hair with his fingers again. “So were you having a nightmare?” He could feel Gabriel’s slight nod, “Do you mind telling me what about?” He made a sound almost similar to a hum before answering, “‘s about my older sister. It wasn’t as much of a dream as it was a replay of a memory, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor when I was maybe 5. We were really close before that, I visited her everyday when she was in the hospital. One night I convinced mom to let us stay the night with her, died from a stroke right in front of me. Pretty much why I’m scared of hospitals and why I threw up when I first came into the room, kind of a pussy fear to have, right?” Jack shook his head, “No, I think it’s completely rational. You watched your sister die in a hospital, I can’t imagine that’s easy to go through as a kid. You wanna know what a real pussy fear is? I have a fear of squirrels, when I was a kid I went to the park with my grandmother and basically the summary of it is that I got bitten on the ass by a squirrel.” Jack began to laugh, as did Gabriel. They’d spent a good few minutes just laughing, nothing else, just laughter filling the room between them. When it died down, Gabriel said nothing but a simple whisper of, “Keep talking, please” Jack raised an eyebrow, one hand still kneading through Gabe’s hair. “Anything in particular?” Gabriel shook his head, “No, anything is fine. I just…” Gabriel went silent for a few moments, “Just keep talking, dammit.” While Jack wanted to know what Gabriel was about to say, he smirked at the man’s frustration. “I guess I could tell you about my little sister, I actually have four sisters, but the one I’m talking about is the second youngest. I love all of them, but I guess I have a special place for her. She’s 6 years younger than me, the other two are much closer in age to me, so I guess it was the first time I truly felt like a ‘big brother’ if that makes sense. She’s perhaps the sweetest girl you’d ever met, sugar’s got nothing on her. Well, she used to get these awful night terrors as a kid. She’d burst into my room at 2 AM screaming and I’d always play with her hair to calm her down. I have to be honest and say I was a bit upset when they’d stopped, I missed feeling like a protective big brother. She’s 18 now and lives in Chicago, she goes to a super prestigious medical school with her boyfriend.” Jack smiled fondly at the thought of them, “He actually kind of reminds me of you, incredibly edgy and curses way too much. He can seem like kind of a jerk, but he’s not...just tall, awkward, and intimidating. He treats her like royalty constantly, I can practically see the hearts in his eyes whenever she walks into a room. I haven’t seen her in a while, we skype sometimes though...I guess I just miss her a lot is all.” He half expected Gabriel to be snoring, he’d rambled for quite a while, but instead he seemed to still be listening. It looked like he was smiling, not a smirk, not a grin, but a soft smile. He knew this was a sight to behold.

 

“Is that a smile, Edgelord Reyes?” Gabriel groaned, smacking Jack’s arm, “Shut up, Boy scout Morrison.” Apparently Angela had been watching for a good ten minutes, she was grinning. “Hate to interrupt a moment, but I must check your temperature Jack”

  
“T-this wasn’t a moment dammit!” Jack laughed as Gabriel pulled his sweater hood over his head in embarrassment. His temperature had risen a teensy bit, but Angela claimed that she likely knew the reason why. Hopefully Gabe hadn’t been paying attention to that. Jack Morrison might have, probably has, alright, definitely has a crush on a straight guy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One down for realizing they like the other, only one more to go...which might take a bit of time because Gabriel is a bisexual in denial, but it's definitely clear that Jack has some kind of effect on him hence the whole keep talking thing (to calm him down from that dream)
> 
> jack's lil sis and her boyfriend are a reference to kat and i's oc kids that have somewhat of that same dynamic as like blackwatch reaper76 maybe? edgelord and sunshine 
> 
> they were made before i even knew what overwatch was, so its p likely that their relationship was what caused me to have a huuuuuge soft spot for pre-swiss hq reaper76 <3
> 
> anyways, I hope you guys liked! Despite that not a lot happened, I'm rather pleased with how this turned out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am incredibly overwhelmed by the support of this fanfiction! I expected maybe 10 kudos at the most, no where near 100! Thank you guys so much! <3 
> 
> Also i guess its christmas time???????? I like realized that i mentioned it was november in the first chapter and there’s like a 2 week time skip between the first and second chapter and its been like a week between chapter 4 and this one
> 
> so i guess get ur candy canes ready kiddos even tho its august. 
> 
> also all spanish was translated using google translate (+ corrected by @DaughterOfInkAndLetters, thank you so much!)(with the exception of si for obvious reasons and y tu novio/novia) if its incorrect please let me know! I'll post all translations at the end, including amelie's french and the incredibly obvious

 

Gabriel's apartment was hectic to say the least. Amélie was his only official roommate, but Lena and Jamie were there so damn often that they might as well start paying rent too. With the uninvited guests, it was harder to sleep in his own room than in Jack's hospital room. Lena liked to get up at the ass crack of dawn to make a shitty English breakfast, who the hell eats baked beans at breakfast? Jamie normally slept on the couch, so he was usually wasn't far behind when it came to waking up. Neither of them seemed to know how to speak a normal volume, Gabriel would reluctantly wake up at 7:30 AM after multiple failures of drowning out their annoying accents. Amélie was usually in the same situation.

 

"Well good morning sleepy heads!" Jamie said with a cackle, taking another sip from a mug of coffee. Gabriel furrowed his eyebrows, "Is that my mug?" Jamie grinned and nodded, "Yup! So who's driving us to work?" Amélie walked into the kitchen to place a kiss on her girlfriend's cheek, "Not you. The last time we let you drive, you somehow managed to get the tire to pop off when driving at 65 mph. It smashed into some guy's windshield and he was critically injured, the fact you are not in prison is astounding." Jamie huffed, crossing his arms, "That wasn't my fault! It wasn't like the guy didn't see the tire before it slammed  into his windshield, like 3 people in front of him moved out of the way!" Gabriel snorted, Amélie glaring over at him as well. "You're not completely innocent either, _bête_. You don't know how to drive anything that isn't an obnoxious motorcycle with edgy skulls on it." Lena snickered as Amélie shooed the two out, "Now go shower, you two stink."

 

Gabriel was quite grateful for the at-home shower, he'd stayed overnight in Jack's hospital room more than he'd like to admit. Hospital showers freaked Gabriel out a bit, the shampoo smelled like chemicals, and he might've thought about the fact Jack was barely 10 feet away most of time. The peaceful feeling was interrupted by a loud knocking, "Mate! You've been showerin' for 'bout 10 decades now!" Gabriel groaned, "Keep complaining and I'll double it,  _ canguro _ ." Jamie banged on the door again, "Oi! Did you just call me a kangaroo?!"

 

"Si"

 

~

 

Everyday at every hour was typically hectic at the small diner they worked at. It'd become a tourist destination due to it's rustic and vintage nature, and also the fact it was local. For some reason, tourists always flocked to local diners. The three of them managed to make it 20 minutes before doors opened, giving Gabriel plenty of time to make fun of Jesse's tacky belt buckle and wipe down tables. During their brief conversation, Jesse motioned Gabriel to turn around. Behind him stood one of his coworkers, a small Latina woman that Gabriel truthfully, couldn't remember the name of. They'd talked on a few occasions, she was the only other person with the exception of Jesse to speak fluent Spanish out of the staff. He didn't know much about her except the fact most of the guys had asked her out at least once, and for good reason. She was incredibly attractive, even Amélie could admit that. Gabriel greeted her, she gave a smile back up at him. He could tell she was nervous about something, she avoided eye contact with him and looked quite tense.

 

"So ah, Gabe...I was kind of wondering if, maybe you wanted to go out for a drink later tonight or something?"

 

Gabriel didn't even hesitate with his answer, it was almost shameful how he knew exactly what he was going to say when she'd first opened her mouth.

 

"Thanks for the offer but, I've got a friend in the hospital that I'm visiting tonight."

 

She looked disappointed, but nodded in acceptance, "Another time then."

 

Gabriel nodded back, "Yeah, maybe."

 

Apparently multiple people had been watching their encounter, because everyone was looking at him like he'd just killed a man in front of their very eyes. Even Jesse looked completely dumbfounded, "Uh...I was yanking yer chain a few weeks ago when I called Jack yer boyfriend, but..." Gabriel cut him off, putting a hand over Jesse's mouth, "I know what you're about to ask and no, the answer is no." Jesse nodded, removing Gabriel's hand from his mouth. Amélie laughed, "Gabriel, you just rejected a Latina girl who's extremely hot and speaks fluent Spanish for a pasty white boy that eats Panera Bread on a daily and can't even pronounce tortilla." Jamie began to poke fun at him as well, "What? Ya gonna give him one of yer kidney's now too?"

 

Gabriel groaned, "I can't, his blood type is O- and I'm AB+, so it's not even possible." Jesse chuckled, "So you considered it then!" Amélie's laughter grew even stronger, " _ Mon dieu! _ Not only do you remember his blood type, you considered giving him a kidney! A major organ! You wouldn't even let me have a bite of your churros!" Gabriel groaned and tugged on his hoodie strings, " _ Los odio a todos ustedes _ ."

 

~

 

Gabriel had completely forgotten that it was the holiday season until he’d received a call from his mother reminding him of the fact they’d be coming to Philadelphia to visit in a week, he was grateful that it was an even numbered year because he definitely didn’t have the money to pay for a round flight from Philly to Los Angeles. It was inconvenient that half of the family lived on the other side of country, but the Reyes family refused to ever be separated on Christmas. They could handle birthdays, Thanksgiving, Easter, but never Christmas. He expected Jack to be ecstatic about the holiday season, he seemed like the kind of person to be singing Christmas carols at any given moment and gushing about the excitement of seeing his family. However, there was nothing. Gabriel was actually the one to bring up the holiday season,

 

“So, are you getting discharged for a few days for Christmas?” Gabe snorted, “I bet you miss mom’s unseasoned chicken and dad’s playing of Johnny Cash on loop.” Jack shook his head, “I haven’t seen my parents in 6 years, I talk with my mom sometimes but not my dad. We’re ah..not on the best of terms.” Gabriel raised an eyebrow, Jack Morrison, having a difficult family life? He didn’t seem like the type of person, although in his defense, things seem different on the outside looking in. “Care to elaborate?” Jack looked down at his lap, fingers laced and thumbs rubbing together, “I basically told him I was gay on my 18th birthday and, yeah, he wasn’t a huge fan of that.” Jack let out a light hearted laugh, Gabriel could sense some sort of pain in it, “I don’t think I’ve celebrated Christmas since the one before that.” Silence filled the room after, Gabriel wasn’t sure what to say. His family had always been quite close knit, no matter what someone did, they weren’t left behind or shunned in the Reyes family. 

 

“You interested in being apart of some Latino Christmas traditions then?” 

 

Gabriel felt himself panic for a moment, where the hell did that come from? It was like he’d completely lost control of himself, and his mouth had betrayed him. Jack seemed incredibly pleased though, he was practically beaming at Gabriel. “Really? Are you sure? I’d love to, but I wouldn’t wanna be a burden by showing up uninvited!” Gabe laughed at this, clearly this boy had no idea about Latino families. “Jack, uninvited guests are perhaps the most invited ones at Reyes family get-togethers. Everyone in my ‘generation’ is either asked ‘ _ ¿Y tu novia? _ ’ or ‘ _ ¿Y tu novio? _ ’ which is essentially asking where our boyfriend or girlfriend is. I guess they’ll still ask but just don’t sweat about it. I’ll talk to _abuela_ tomorrow.” Jack grinned, “So care to tell me about these Latino Christmas traditions?”

 

~

 

Once Gabriel had arrived back at his apartment, he immediately burst into his room, flopping face down on his bed with a groan. He needed to take a moment to recollect what had just happened the previous two hours before. He’d invited Jack Morrison to two weeks worth of a Reyes family holiday season, to meet his entire family. That was something he hadn’t even done with a girlfriend of two years. No, that wasn’t the same scenario. Jack wasn’t Gabriel’s boyfriend and Gabriel was simply doing something nice. That was the truth, so why the hell did Gabriel get that nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach over the thought of Jack Morrison meeting his family? 

 

_ Get yourself the fuck together, Reyes _

 

_ You don’t like him like that _

 

_ No matter how pretty his eyes are _

 

_ Or how cute he gets when he’s excited _

 

_ You don’t fucking like him that way. _

 

_ You can’t. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bisexual in denial amirite? anywayssss hanzo may or may not be making another appearance next chapter to may or may not be having a talk with gabi. i wont elaborate further however
> 
> By the way, that girl that asked out Gabi wasn't really anyone in canon. She was just kind of, random and probably won't make an appearance every again. this is a no love triangle zone
> 
> I need to pace myself better so let's say...145 kudos and i'll update? I think that seems fair! 
> 
> bête - stupid
> 
> canguro - kangaroo
> 
> si - yes
> 
> Mon dieu - My God
> 
> Los odio a todos ustedes - I hate you all
> 
> ¿Y tu novia?’ - And your girlfriend? / Where's your girlfriend?
> 
> ¿Y tu novio?’ - And your boyfriend? / Where's your boyfriend?
> 
> abuela - Grandma


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i figured i might as well post this now cause I promised an update at 120-145 kudos and we're like a 155! sorry its short
> 
> adult themes are...present but not no where near explicit, it's more of a mention of adult themes, but basically even gabriel's dreams know he's not straight ;o

Thoughts of Jack Morrison seemed to invade his mind at a constant rate, trying to suppress them only seem to make them come on stronger. His boss had made a note that he seemed to be spacing out at work, Gabriel could only hope it wouldn't lead to a termination. It wasn't just his boss whom had noticed, Jesse would be rambling on and on about something stupid like Clint Eastwood movies, and all Gabriel could think of is Jack's 3 AM text messages about the fact Full House was on, claiming it to be the second best day of his life after the time Gabriel nearly pissed himself when Jack was faking the inability to breathe.

 

What a shithead.

 

"Gabe, are you even listenin'?"

 

"Nope"

 

Jesse laughed and patted him on the shoulder, "Too busy thinkin' 'bout how yer gonna impress lover boy at Christmas?" Gabriel scowled at Jesse, not giving him an answer. He was somewhat on the right track, he'd spoken to abuela about Jack coming over, the conversation had gone the exact route he'd thought it would.

 

_ Mijo, are you telling me that this Jack is your boyfriend? You know I love you no matter who you love Gabi _

 

He'd insisted that that wasn't the case, she didn't believe him. Truthfully, he wasn't sure if he believed himself at this point. Not only was the boy scout invading his thoughts, he was invading his dreams as well...intimate dreams. He'd flipped the picture of him and his siblings in their Catholic school uniforms face down, he could feel the eyes from the image shaming him. He was actually almost sure that he didn’t know a single person who believed he was straight anymore, his brothers had been facebook messaging him, teasing him about bringing a white boy to Christmas. 

 

_ Jeez Gabi, I always knew you had a vanilla fetish but a farm boy? _

  
  


_ Finally, that betting pool I started in high school will finally pay off. Always knew you liked guys. _

 

Gabriel didn’t have the capacity to argue with them at this point, because he was at least a little terrified that they were right. Even Amélie had stopped teasing him about it, as well as Jamie. They seemed to get the hint that Gabriel was already having an existential crisis about it. Although Jamie had made a comment when Gabriel was attempting to clear his mind out on the patio,

 

_ Look at all the stars mate, they’re shining for ya, and they’re telling ya that yer gay for Jack Morrison. _

 

He was incredibly lucky Gabe didn’t push him over the ledge that second. He almost wondered if “the stars” were right. It was a thought that’d left him sleepless most nights, and when he wasn’t sleepless his dreams were urging him to the answer, but he refused to listen to them. He’d done all he could to try and escape them, he’d started working 2 hours earlier without being asked, despite that no one else was in the tiny diner except for him. Frankly, it was a terrible idea because it gave him even  _ more  _ time to question his sexuality. 

 

It was around 6:30 when he’d arrived at work, slipping the key into the lock and creaking open the door. He’d noticed a silhouette sitting at a booth in the far back, illuminated by the sun peaking through the blinds. “Hanzo?” Gabriel called out, Hanzo giving a glance in his direction, “Oh, Gabriel. I wasn’t aware you’d be here this early.” Gabe shrugged, walking towards the small booth, sliding in the opposite seat, “Wasn’t aware you’d be either.” 

 

“Just thinking, I suppose” Hanzo mused, Gabriel nodding in agreement, “We’re in the same boat then.” Hanzo raised an eyebrow, “Could I ask what you’re thinking  about?” “Only if you tell me what you’re thinking about first” Gabriel retorted, Hanzo nodding, “Very well then, but I promise you it’s nowhere near exciting. I guess I was just thinking about home, that’s it. Now, what are you thinking about?” 

 

“Take a wild guess”

 

Hanzo chuckled as Gabriel’s face flushed, “You know, I was in a situation similar to yours not all that long ago. The thought of liking another man, wasn’t exactly repulsive, but I never thought that holding an attraction to someone of the same gender could ever happen to me. I was in denial for much longer than you’ve been, a talk with one of my brother’s friends was how I’d come to realize and accept my feelings. You cannot tell Genji about that however, he’d never let me see the end of it. I can’t remember most of what he’d said, but I want you to imagine that Jack has just told you that he’s dating someone, how does it make you feel?”

 

Gabriel wasn’t sure if that would even be possible, unless Jack decided to date a male nurse or something, but that would still likely be sucky. “I mean, kind of nauseous I guess?” Hanzo nodded, “Now think how you’d feel if Jack told you he liked you, do you feel happy?” 

 

Gabriel supposed that was the correct word for it, pleased would be how he would feel to say the least. “I want you to say, in your head, ‘I like Jack Morrison’ You don’t have to say how it feels out loud, or even say it out loud. Just say it to yourself.” 

 

_ I like Jack Morrison. _

 

It felt odd, but in a good way, as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. 

 

_ I like Jack Morrison _

 

It felt more real, that time. As if the truth was finally let out of its cage after weeks of denying, and it now roamed through his brain. 

 

_ I like Jack Morrison _

 

_ I like Jack Morrison _

 

_ I like Jack Morrison _

 

_ I like Jack Morrison and his stupid obsession with Captain America, his love for Panera Bread, his shitty kidneys, and those fucking blue eyes. I like all of it. _

 

“You felt something didn’t you?” 

 

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, “How’d you know?”

 

“You were smiling”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hanzo is the relationship master. or like now that he's dating mccree he is
> 
> i imagine b4 that he'd be like "IM NOT GAY -sees jesse mccree- FUCK"
> 
> anywayssss
> 
> i hope yall enjoy and chapters might not be coming out as quick in the future because i may or may not be working on a diff reaper76 project ;p


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry that this took longer than normal i got so distracted multiple times and its a lot longer than the usual chapters
> 
> a lot happens
> 
> all im gonna say is jack’s version of flirting is being a shithead and gabriel has a giant family that adores his guest and
> 
> small jack (that can kick anybodys asses) 4 ur soul 
> 
> also no one in gabes family believes gabe and jack arent dating even tho gabe has made it very clear they arent
> 
> but tbh i dont think anyone outside of the reyes family believes they arent dating either
> 
> spanish was translated using google translate but corrected by @choriza thank you so much doll <3 and very little beta read cause i havent slept in a while and im rly tired so also if you find any mistakes let me knowwww <3
> 
> Enjoy!

“Blood pressure medication?”

 

“Check”

 

“Cholesterol medication?”

 

“Check”

 

“Calcium and Vitamin D supplements?”

 

“Check”

 

“And your anemia medication?”

 

Jack laughed, “Jeez Angie, that’s the 5th time we’ve checked! The holiday season’ll be over by the time you let me leave!” The woman let out an exasperated sigh, giving Jack a pat on the shoulder, “I’m just making sure, remember you come back every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for dialysis. Hopefully if your physical condition doesn’t worsen, you might actually be able to be discharged for longer.” She turned to face Gabriel, handing him a packet labeled “Caring for Someone With CKD”, “I don’t expect Jack to be cautious about his protein intake, so I expect you to monitor him closely.” Gabriel nodded as she handed him another packet on dietary restrictions for people with CKD, having Jack Morrison stay at his apartment for two weeks was already stressful enough as it. He would never admit that he’d thoroughly cleaned his normally messy apartment for the occasion. The fact that Amélie would be out in Europe with Lena the entirety of that time had only escalated the situation, two weeks worth of nights alone with Jack Morrison. Gabriel’s thoughts could only begin to drift to…

 

_Mantén tu mente fuera del canalón, idiota_

 

It wasn’t until that day that Gabriel had realized that he’d _never_ seen Jack actually standing up before. He was a lot shorter than anticipated, he couldn’t be much taller than Hanzo. Jack seemed to be quite annoyed at the height difference, straightening out his shoulders to appear taller. Something else that Gabriel hadn’t noticed about Jack was how muscular he was, he was surprised that he’d managed to maintain his figure, seeing as though he’d been either bedridden or too incredibly fatigued to work out for the past 4 years. Gabriel still couldn’t believe that 2 weeks ago, he thought he was straight, because he sure as hell wasn’t now. He wasn’t exactly sure what to label himself as, bisexual? Someone who thinks Jack Morrison is incredibly hot? Probably both.

 

“Alright then Jack, I think you’re all set!” She said warmly, pulling the two of them into a tight hug, “Happy Holidays and Gabriel, please remember to keep an eye on him!” Jack laughed and patted the woman on the back, “Tell Fareeha and Ana I say hi.” She nodded, “Will do.” Angela let go of the two of them and motioned Jack towards a wheelchair, beaming up at him, “Hospital policy says I have to wheel you down to the exit.” Jack glanced over towards Gabriel, “Could you carry my things?”

 

Gabriel snorted, picking up the boy’s bags, “Of course, your majesty, for I am your loyal servant” He joked. Truthfully though, he probably would’ve done it even if Jack hadn’t asked. It was almost pathetic how whipped he’d become for Jack Morrison, perhaps the densest and whitest person he’d ever met. It wasn’t a new thing either, it’d been like this ever since Gabriel’s first visit to Jack. He could make the most ridiculous requests and Gabriel would rush to fulfill them, he wasn’t sure if it started off as pity or just a yearning to get the hell out of that hospital, but that certainly wasn’t the case anymore. He knew his mother would be proud that he could officially enter a hospital with ease and manage to stay there for hours on end, she would always bring up that time he’d thrown up during the birth of his youngest sister and ran out of the building.

 

Angela had requested that Gabriel bring his car around to the front, so as to not put too much strain on Jack’s body, apparently walking 10 feet to where Gabriel’s car was placed before was too much work for Prince Morrison. Once he’d pulled up to where Jack sat, he knocked on the passenger window of the car. Gabriel rolled down the window and raised an eyebrow, Jack flashing a grin back at him, “Loyal servant, I’m much too weak to get into the car by myself.” Gabriel groaned, “You have defunct kidneys, not paralysis.” Jack feigned dramatic pouting, leaving Gabriel to roll his eyes and comply with Jack’s wishes. He’d hoisted him up by his waist, flinching slightly as strong arms wrapped around his neck.

 

_Oh god this is gay. This is so gay._

 

He slowly spun him around, placing him in the passenger seat. “You need me to buckle you in too?” He said sarcastically, accompanied by a scoff. It was a bad thing to say, because Jack had nodded and let out yet another wolfish grin. Gabriel wondered if Jack was being a huge shithead on purpose, probably. Having to lean over Jack Morrison to buckle him in was nerve wracking enough, he prayed he didn’t fluster. Gabriel Reyes wasn’t built to fluster, he was built to play the guitar, ride motorcycles, and make witty one liners. Of course, Jack Morrison had all of the power and more to make that statement untrue. Gabriel really was just learning the influence Jack had over him.

 

~

 

Having Jack as a temporary roommate was all he expected. The first thing Jack did when they arrived at Gabe’s apartment was raid the fridge, leaving him forced to go grocery shopping again. When he came back, Jack was admiring his room and the posters that cluttered the walls.

 

_“As edgy as I expected! I knew you’d like AC/DC.”_

 

Jack ended up sleeping in Gabriel’s room, leaving Gabe with the choice of Amélie’s room or the couch. He’d never been in Amélie’s room before, and he wasn’t about to start now. He’d made theories about what was behind the door across from his, but he truthfully wasn’t sure if he’d wanted to know. The couch might’ve left him with a crippling backache, but it was a step up from the probable sex dungeon that was the French woman's room. The upside to it was that he had the television at his own disposal. The downside to it was that having Jack alone in his room for 10 hours a day meant Jack could very easily search through his things for embarrassing material, in which he had.

 

At around 3 AM, he’d slid out of Gabriel’s room in his black bathrobe, wearing a mask shaped like the face of a barn owl, made by Gabriel for an art project back in high school. He’d shouted “I am the Reaper!” multiple times, faking a low and gravelly voice. Gabriel chased him around the apartment for upwards of about an hour, attempting to retrieve the reminder of his awful high school years. They eventually agreed on a ceasefire, ending up with the two of them sprawled out on the couch.

 

~

 

 _Nochebuena_ came a lot faster than the two of them had thought, Gabriel wasn’t expected to bring a dish but he knew abuela and mamá would be delighted if he did. Mamá had always claimed that Gabriel had a real knack for cooking. He wasn’t expecting much help from Jack, not that he wasn’t helpful, he just had no idea how to make anything other than frozen chicken nuggets. He’d decided on making _Pozole_ , a traditional stew from Mexico that he’d mastered in his freetime. While he was doing that, Jack seemed to be panicking on what he should wear. Gabriel had insisted that his family wouldn’t care if he wore a t-shirt and sneakers, but Jack insisted on making a good first impression. He seemed to have spent almost an hour in the bathroom fixing his hair and shaving the ever so little amount of stubble he had. It was actually incredibly adorable how much he cared. Jack was openly thankful for Lena practically bringing his entire wardrobe over for the occasion, he’d settled on a cobalt blue polo that hugged him in all of the right places along with a simple pair of dress pants. It was 4 PM and Gabriel himself hadn’t even changed out of his pajamas, he’d known it only take him maybe 30 minutes tops to both shower and change.

 

It wasn’t long before Jack came to pester him about what he was cooking, “Whatcha making? Smells mighty good!” He mused, peeking up over Gabriel’s shoulder. “Who are you? McCree?” He huffed, Jack sticking his tongue out in response “Just let me have a taste, pleeease?” Gabriel groaned, dipping the wooden spoon into the pot before spinning around, lightly pressing it against Jack’s lips, “Careful, it’s hot.” Jack opened his mouth slightly, smiling in delight at the taste, “You’re a great cook y’know that?” Gabriel shrugged, “So I’ve been told.”

 

“I’m serious though, you’re great at it!”

 

Gabriel could feel himself internally basking in the compliments Jack was throwing at him right now, it was probably better than if God himself had complimented his cooking. He quickly took it back though, he could hear his mother scolding him in his head. Jack leaned against the counter, “So what exactly are the plans for tonight? My family never really did much for Christmas Eve.” Gabriel glanced over at him, a grin on his face as if spending Christmas Eve with the Reyes family was the best thing that had happened to him, “Family dinner, then midnight mass, and gift opening. The rest of Christmas is usually meant for relaxation and sleeping.” Jack nodded, “I hope your family likes me” He muttered, “Don’t sweat it, you probably won’t see them again anyways” Gabriel could’ve sworn he sensed disappointment in his eyes, but he knew he was likely over thinking things.

 

~

 

5 PM rolled around quickly, and the drive over to Grandma Reyes house was none less than Jack loudly singing whatever Christmas song came on the radio. Gabriel even couldn’t help humming along to some, he knew this was nothing compared to the loud singing his family would likely do, no, likely already _is_ doing. Jack would get along with them just fine. They arrived at Gabriel’s grandmother’s house shortly after, Gabriel grabbing the pot of _Pozole_ from the backseat and trotting through the snow built up on the driveway, Jack following closely behind. They didn’t even have to knock, his abuela likely knew of his arrival before they’d even gotten out of the car. She’d greeted Jack like he was a long lost grandson of hers as well, hugging him tightly and kissing his cheek  “ _¡Dios mío!_ I’m excited to finally meet you Jack!” She said, “And Gabi! Have you gotten taller?” She hugged him as well, Gabriel unable to reciprocate due to the dish he held in his hands. “Don’t be shy, come in!” She said happily, putting an arm around Jack’s shoulder and leading him in. Gabriel entered behind them, nudging through his family members to enter the kitchen, his tías happily greeting him. He’d placed the pot on the counter before being bombarded with kisses and hugs from his aunts.

 

“Gabriel! _¡Muy guapo!_ ”

 

“ _¡Qué alto!_ ”

 

“ _¿Dónde está ese novio tuyo?_ ”

 

He’d had to politely correct multiple family members of his about Jack, apparently the word had spread fast that he was bringing a guest to the family dinner, a male guest. None of them seemed to mind or care that he was a guy, they treated it the exact same as they would his brothers when they would bring their girlfriends to the Christmas dinner, despite that Jack was nowhere near his boyfriend. It took him a solid 5 minutes to find his guest, who was currently having quite the conversation with his mother, it didn’t take him long to realize they were looking at Gabriel’s childhood photo album. “Did Gabi ever tell you he went to Catholic school as a boy?” He could tell Jack was stifling laughter as he looked at the photo of an 11 year old Gabe in a Catholic school uniform, “No, he did not Mrs. Reyes.” A smile formed on her lips, “Aw _querido_ , call me María.” Gabriel quickly swept him away before his mother could show him anything worse than a pre-pubescent Gabriel in a sweater vest.

 

The living room was incredibly crowded with family, but Jack seemed to embrace it, he also mentioned he was relieved he was not the only guest to be invited. Jack appeared to be the family favorite however, his aunt’s praised how handsome he was, his little cousins begged Gabriel to marry him, his father treated him as if he was his own son, and his sisters flirted with him constantly, despite that they too were under the impression Gabriel and Jack were dating. He was concerned about how his brothers would take to Jack, but even his charm had spread to them, talking on and on about their favorite sports teams, his brother had even said he was a good catch for a white boy.

 

Gabriel didn’t even care to correct them anymore.

 

When dinner time rolled around, the family treated Jack as if he was a starving child, he’d had to have cleared his plate at least 4 times. “You have a family of chefs, and good lookers!” Jack told his mother, who blushed and waved her hand, “What a charmer!” She exclaimed, Gabriel couldn’t admit he might’ve blushed a bit as well.

 

After dinner came dessert, and Gabriel was incredibly surprised Jack even had the capacity to eat anymore, he knew he should be reminding Jack of his diet, but it was Christmas, he’d let it slide. Among the desserts served were _Buñuelos_ , _Atole_ , _Champurrado_ , _Pan dulce_ , Pineapple upside-down cake, and _Rosco de Reyes_. Rosco de Reyes was normally only served on king’s day, but the Reyes family made an exception to serve it whenever they could. What Jack seemed to truly enjoy was the _ponche,_ from the “adults bowl”,in which Gabriel had to ask Jack if he was allowed to drink alcohol.

 

 _“In moderation!”_ was his response, grabbing another cup.

 

At 11:30, Grandma Reyes insisted that everyone walk together to Midnight Mass, as their church was only half a mile away. When walking, Jack had actually held onto his arm. He didn’t ask why, he figured he might as well make it last.

 

Jack Morrison was probably the only person on the planet who could possibly have fun at a 2 hour mass, he smiled the entire time as if he was out with his friends at a bar instead of a relatively large latino family in a Catholic church.

 

After mass came gift opening at home, Jack seemed to be surprised that he’d actually received any gifts from Gabriel’s family at all, but Gabriel knew that his family would get or make gifts for any guest, no matter how last minute they were. Gabriel’s brothers had gotten him a Colts sweatshirt, his mother had knitted him the traditional “welcome to the family” sweater, which made Jack incredibly happy. His grandmother had given him the ponche recipe, which Jack was also very grateful for, seeing as though he was still taking periodic sips of it from his cup.

 

Jack had given gifts as well, most noticeably a pair of diamond earrings for his grandmother. Gabriel could hear his tías whisper,

 

“ _¡Que chico tan dulce!_ ”

 

“¡Gabriel tiene suerte!”

 

“ _Espero que se casen_ ”

 

It had to have been around 3 AM by the time they’d finally left, Jack practically had a line of Gabriel’s family members waiting to give him hugs and kisses, not that Jack minded at all. Jack practically talked his ear off about how successful the night went the entire ride home, Gabriel knew he’d never be able to go to another family event without bringing Jack ever again, they’d ask about him constantly. He half expected Jack and his grandmother to go out for lunch every Tuesdays now. Jack continued to babble on as they made their way up to Gabriel’s apartment,

 

“And your brothers are really nice too!”

 

“Try growing up and living with them”

 

Jack laughed, “Aw come on! I’m sure they weren’t that terrible.” Gabriel huffed, “They once poured an entire bottle of glue in my hair as a kid, for no real reason except they wanted to see what would happen.” Gabriel fiddled with the key and the lock for a few moments before managing to unlock the apartment door, Jack coming down from his laughter, “I like your family, they seem really close knit.” The two of them entered the apartment, Gabriel taking his spot on the couch, Jack sitting down next to him, pursing  his lips, “My family isn’t really like that.” Gabriel slung an arm behind the couch, “Well, if you want you can come with me to the King’s Day celebration, pretty much marks the end of the latino holiday season.” Jack grinned, turning to face Gabriel, “Really?” Gabriel shrugged before nodding, “Yeah, I figured they’d expect you there anyways, they all think we’re banging.”

 

“I suppose that wouldn’t be terrible if it were true.”

 

It was silent between the two of them, it gave time for Gabriel to process what Jack had just said and to realize just how close they were. Jack’s chest was pressed against his shoulder, Gabriel could feel every breath he took, every beat his heart made. He found himself staring into Jack’s eyes, looking for any sign of glossiness to confirm Gabriel’s theories that he was drunk, but there wasn’t any to be found. Jack Morrison was completely sober, and actually said that the thought of them banging wouldn’t be terrible.

 

This had to be some sort of dream

 

He knew it definitely wasn’t a dream when he felt Jack’s lips on his own. He tasted the ponche on him, the sweetness of fruit, the spice of the cinnamon, and the aftertaste of rum. Jack’s hands reached up to cup Gabriel’s face, whose hands moved down to grip onto his hips. It was sloppy, wet, there was almost nothing but pure lust and longing in it. The taste of the ponche only seemed to grow stronger as their kiss deepened, and Gabriel definitely wanted more of that taste, but it felt as if as soon as it started, it had stopped. Jack pulled away, eyes widened in terror.

 

“I’m sorry...Goodnight Gabriel” He muttered, quickly scrambling off the couch and into Gabriel’s room, slamming the door.

 

Gabriel wasn’t just sure what the hell had happened, but all he knew is that the taste of the ponche began to turn bitter.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so sorry
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you sosososoosososososososo much @choriza for correcting my spanish!
> 
>  
> 
> Mantén tu mente fuera del canalón, idiota - Get your mind out of the gutter, idiot
> 
> Nochebuena - Christmas Eve
> 
> ¡Muy guapo! - Very handsome!
> 
> ¡Qué alto! - So tall!
> 
> ¿Dónde está ese novio tuyo? - Where is that boyfriend of yours?
> 
> ¡Que chico tan dulce! - What a sweet boy!
> 
> ¡Gabriel tiene suerte! - Gabriel is lucky!
> 
> Espero que se casen - I hope they marry


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We haven't had something in Jack's POV in a while and I suppose there should be a bit of a look back on Jack's gayness here ;) No smut but implied/mentioned sexual content at the beginning, sadly not between Jack and Gabi though. Veeeeery Jack central
> 
> Definitely shorter than last, but I think next chapter should be longer than this one. Enjoy! <3

  
  
_ The summer sun beat down on them as they roamed through the cornfield together. It was the end of the school year, a hot June day spent messing around by two newly graduates. They chased each other with their water guns through the tall stalks of corn, laughing as they'd tease and playfully mock each other. _ __  
__  
_ "Come on, Jackie boy! Betcha can't find me!" _ __  
__  
_ "I swear I'm gonna spray your ass when I do, Greyson!"  _ __  
__  
_ They'd been best friends since they were kids, doing almost everything together since then. They were inseparable, and always had been. They were both football players, total eye candy to the girls of their school, but Greyson was far more successful with them than Jack. Jack had told himself that he just hadn't found the right girl for him, and Greyson did his best to try and help with that, but Greyson had only made Jack realize he was gay, something Greyson surprisingly accepted. The issue is that Jack was gay for him, he was in love with his straight best friend, a shitty first love to have.  _ __  
__  
_ Someone had come up behind him, water hitting his back before someone was grabbing him and tackling him to the ground. _ __  
__  
_ "Ha! Got you Jack, better pay more attention next time!" Greyson said, poking below Jack's ribs as he squirmed below him, "Hey! You know I'm ticklish dummy!" Jack had rolled them over, finding himself on top of his best friend. They wrestled for a bit, attempting to reach for their water guns, fighting for dominance before they'd realized what position they were in.  _ __  
_  
_ __ They were both shirtless, due in fact to the 90 degree weather. Chest to chest, they felt each other's every breath, it was a few minutes before Jack had pulled his best friend down to kiss him, and he'd reciprocated, surprisingly. Things seemed to move quickly from there, Greyson pulling at the waistband of his friend's shorts and Jack letting out a sigh of pleasure as the other boy left sloppy kisses down his neck, Jack’s hands roaming through brunette hair.

_  
_ _ It was Jack's first time, and he'd never imagined it'd be with the boy he'd been in love with since age 14, and he'd also never thought it'd be in the shade of crops on the dirt ground. He was incredibly unprepared, they were without condoms and without lubrication, but they had to work with what they could use. _

__  
_ Fumbling, awkward, slightly painful, and the best thing Jack had ever experienced were the only ways to describe it. The way Greyson had grunted and groaned was like music to Jack’s ears. He didn’t want it to end, but the euphoria couldn’t last forever though, as soon as they'd finished, it had started to hit the two of them of what they'd just done. Greyson had cleaned himself off and pulled up his swim trunks, giving Jack a quick goodbye before he was gone. They didn't talk for days after that, until Jack had received a text. _ __  
__  
_ Grey: We need to talk _ __  
_ Jack: ? _ __  
_ Grey: Jack, we can't be friends anymore. _ __  
_ Jack: Greyson, it was only a mistake. _ __  
_ Grey: Jesus christ Jack it wasn't like we stayed out after curfew or ate too much pizza. We had sex, that's more than a mistake. _ _  
_ __ Jack: Can’t we just talk about this? Discuss our options?

_ Grey: You’re so fucking thick-headed Morrison _

_ Grey: You just don’t fucking understand at all how awful this shit is _

_ Grey: Just don't talk to me okay? Just forget it ever happened, forget we were ever friends.  _ __  
__  
_ Jack didn't respond after that, Greyson hadn't added anything else either. That was the last time they'd ever spoken.  _ __  
  
~   
  
Jack had royally screwed up, maybe not as bad as he had with Greyson, but it sure felt that way. He'd done exactly what he'd swore he'd never do again, he'd fallen for his straight best friend and then made the mistake of kissing them in the heat of the moment. But god if Gabriel didn't taste like heaven, he tasted like the sweet mixture of cinnamon and chocolate, it must've been the  __ champurrado . He wanted to continue to kiss Gabriel so badly, but as soon as he felt those calloused fingertips on hips, how he’d desperately kissed him back, he knew what would come after. He couldn't do that, he couldn't go through that again. He cared for Gabriel too much to even bear the thought of losing him simply because Jack couldn't keep it in his pants. 

 

Despite the fact the snow was coming down in piles, Jack had left Gabriel’s apartment and started walking as far away as he could. The smell of Gabriel had filled the home, no matter where Jack had tried to go, the pleasant but taunting scent had found its way to him. It was especially worse on the sheets and pillowcase that Jack had found himself sleepless on only a few hours before. He had to get out of there as quick as he could.

 

Jack didn’t have a destination in mind when he left, and still didn’t have one almost 3 miles into a very long walk. He’d decided he’d just keep walking until he’d found a proper way to face the difficult situation at hand, he knew he’d probably be out in the city for a while. He’d completely shut out how cold it actually was, it couldn’t have been over 20 degrees, maybe not even over 10. He hadn’t noticed his clothes were soaked until he’d taken a seat on a bench, trying to catch his breath. He’d felt dizzy, tired almost. Barely anything was visible to him, the snow had made it difficult to view anything over maybe 35 feet away, all he could see was a figure trudging through the snow, coming towards him.

 

“You  _ idiot! _ ” was all he heard before he’d faded out of consciousness.

 

~

 

_ I think I’ve lost my best friend _

  
  


_ My best friend that I might be falling for _

  
  


_ He’s straight but I couldn’t help but kiss him _

 

_ I realized my mistake too late _

  
  


_ And I’m scared that he hates me _

  
  


_ I don’t want him to hate me _

  
  


_ I care about him so much, I can’t lose him _

  
  


_ I just can’t _

  
  


_ He’s so perfect, how he laughs, and how he smiles, his dumb one liners, and stupid band posters _

  
  


_ I love all of him _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be longer but I felt that was a good point to stop at.
> 
> I don't think most of you got that ending cause it's incredibly vague and the next chapter will skip to maybe an hour after it, so i'll explain.
> 
> Basically, Jack had fainted due to the anemia (kidney disease can cause anemia due to the fact your kidneys are not producing enough EPO, and low levels of EPO can cause red blood cell count to drop and anemia to develop, little medical fact there ;p) shortly after he'd seen and heard this "mYsTeRy PeRsOn" (not a mystery), the ending bit is Jack thinking aloud pretty much as his """"mystery person""""" rescues him, since he's kind of out of it he probably doesnt realize its gabe
> 
>  
> 
> so yeah, thats a thing 
> 
> anyways i hope you enjoy and feel free to follow me on tumblr! barking-hime.tumblr.com


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel's p angry at Jack and says fucking a lot that's all I can say
> 
> Also thank you so much for 250+ kudos! You guys are the best <3

The next thing Jack could remember was that he'd felt considerably warmer than before. He wasn't exactly sure where he was, he was still pretty out of it. He wasn't in his own clothes, they felt too large for him, but it was almost comforting in a way. Wrapped in a comforter with a familiar scent, he'd soon realized that he was in Gabriel's room, in Gabriel's clothes.    
  
"He lives"   
  
Jack sat up, glancing over at Gabriel, who was leaning against the door frame, Jack could very easily tell that Gabriel wasn't happy with him, at all. His arms were crossed, a scowl plastered on his face that made Jack feel 10x smaller. "Mind telling me what the hell you were doing 3 miles away from the apartment during a  _ fucking blizzard? _ " Jack huffed, "I could ask you the same question." Gabriel was beginning to visibly tense, "Looking for your dumbass that's why, now answer the question." He said through gritted teeth, Jack nervously shrugging back at him, "I was just...thinking I guess."    
  
The answer seemed to have only made Gabriel much more livid, Jack could virtually see the fire in his eyes. "You know what you fucking do when you need to think? You fucking listen to Coldplay and lie in bed for 3 hours like the rest of us, not walk out in 5 degree weather when there's a fucking foot of snow on the ground, you  _ fainted _ for christ's sake!" Gabriel's face had softened a bit, "Do you remember any of what happened?"   
  


Jack shook his head, Gabriel nodding in response before walking from the door frame, leaving Jack’s view of sight. Gabriel had said nothing about the night before every time he’d periodically come back to check on Jack, he’d said nothing at all. 

 

~

 

His sister had messaged him at around noon, which had improved his ever so deteriorating mood.

 

_ Opal: merry christmas jackie!!! _ \\(^o^)/

 

_ Jack: aw thanks op _

 

_ Jack: happy holidays to you too _

 

_ Opal: i heard there’s a huge blizzard  _

_ there! _

 

_ Opal: are you safe? _

 

_ Jack: yeah im fine _

 

_ Jack: did you make it to lagro okay? _

 

_ Opal: yeah! we all wished you were there though  _ ;^;

 

_ Opal: i know things are weird between you and dad but i think he’d put it aside for christmas _

 

_ Opal: and _

 

_ Opal: greyson and his mom came too _

 

_ Opal: he’s bisexual now and he asked about you ;) _

 

_ Jack: opal i appreciate the thought but i’m kind of _

 

_ Jack: well not kind of _

 

_ Jack: i’m really into my latino best friend _

 

_ Opal: oooooh! does he speak spanish? _

 

_ Jack: yeah and truthfully its kinda hot _

 

_ Jack: but we’re kind of on a rough patch right now _

 

_ Opal: why so? ;o _

 

_ Jack: well i uh _

 

_ Jack: i kind of kissed him last night _

 

_ Jack: and he’s straight _

 

_ Jack: so that kind of creates a problem _

 

_ Jack: he hasn’t even mentioned it at all and it’s pissing me off _

 

_ Jack: if he’s gonna ditch me he might as well do it now _

 

_ Opal: maybe he’s waiting for you to talk to him? you don’t know that he’s going to ditch you jackie _

 

_ Opal: who knows? maybe he likes you too! _

 

_ Jack: hah. funny. _

 

_ Opal: i have to go but think about that jack _

 

_ Opal: bye <3 _

 

_ Jack: bye _

 

Jack had thought about what his sister had said, maybe she was right. Maybe Gabriel was desperately waiting for Jack to bring it up, maybe he…

 

No, that wasn’t possible. Gabriel didn’t like him in that way, Jack would be lucky if he wasn’t eternally pissed and would still be willing to be his friend.

 

_ ‘Damn straight guys’  _ was all he could think. 

 

~

 

It took about 2 hours for Jack to psych himself up to face Gabe, he’d planned out just exactly what he was going to say. He was going to confess to Gabriel that he’d had feelings for him, and say that he understood Gabriel was straight. He was going to apologize for letting his emotions come over him. He was going to ask Gabriel if it was possible for them to still be friends. He could only hope that things would work out.

 

He’d been facing the door for a good 10 minutes, terrified of even leaving the soothing comfort of isolation.

 

_ Forgive me for being so fucking gay, Gabriel _

 

He’d swung open the door, scurrying out to the living room. Gabriel was stretched out on the couch, watching whatever Christmas special was on ABC Family. He’d taken note of Jack’s presence, turning his head to face the boy, who looked like a deer in the headlights.

 

He’d completely forgotten everything he’d planned to say, he was just standing there terrified, and Gabriel had noticed, a grin tugging at his lips.

  
  


“You look like you saw someone throw away the bread bowl at Panera bread.”

 

“Gabe, I’m sorry for kissing you last night and taking my incredible gayness out on you and I get it if you hate me right now cause I know you’re straight and don’t think of me like that but can we at least try to be friends again?” The words had slipped from his mouth, and there wasn’t any chance of stopping them. Gabriel had said nothing in response, he’d just sat there for a moment before standing up, striding over to face Jack. 

 

“Has anyone ever told you that you need to get your head out of your own ass?” 

 

Jack was dumbfounded, what the hell was that supposed to mean? He’d opened his mouth to retort what Gabriel had said, but Gabriel had interrupted him, “You never  _ once  _ considered asking me how I felt about the situation? You just fucking went out and assumed how I felt?” Jack scoffed at him, “I’ve dealt with shit like this before, I know how straight guys are. You fuck your gay best friends because you know they like you-” 

 

“And who the hell said I was straight?”

 

Now  _ that  _ was something Jack hadn’t expected, “Alright, to be fair I was straight when we first met but, I am not straight now. I don’t know what the hell to call it exactly, bisexual maybe.” Jack’s eyes had widened, he wasn’t exactly sure when this had happened, and why didn’t Gabriel tell him? “What are you trying to say here?”

  
  


“Jesus fuck, you’re the densest motherfucker on the planet you know that? I’m saying that I  _ like _ you,  _ tonto! _ ” 

  
  


This wasn’t how things were supposed to go, this absolutely could not be real. Jack was meant to apologize and Gabriel would accept, they’d continue being friends and Jack would get over him. Gabriel wasn’t supposed to like him back, Jack wasn’t supposed to feel butterflies in his stomach from how fucking happy he was at the moment. “Are you gonna say something or keep staring at me like you just the ghost of...I don’t know who’s someone dead that white people like?”

  
  


“Michael Jackson”

  
  


“You don’t respond to me saying I like you but you respond to  _ that _ ?”

  
  


Jack had actually snorted at that, Gabriel softly smirking in response to his laughter, “Could you give me a response so I can know if it’s appropriate to say that your laugh is cute?”

 

“I think you just said that”

 

“Now you’re just being a shithead on purpose” 

 

Jack let out a grin as he threw his arms around Gabe’s torso, “Yeah yeah, but don’t forget you like me so much that you literally realized your non-straightness after what, 23 years?” Gabriel stuck his tongue out at him, Jack teasingly sticking out his own and pressed it against Gabe’s who quickly retracted his, “God you’re gross!” Jack smirked, “You didn’t seem to have an issue with it before.” Gabriel groaned, putting a hand on the small of Jack’s back, pulling him towards his chest, “Shut it, cute ass white boy.” He muttered, Jack could feel himself growing warmer under his touch. He could’ve sworn he felt Gabriel press a kiss to the top of his head,

 

_ God we’re so gay. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabe and Jack might be together, but that doesn't mean the stories over kiddos! ;)
> 
> There's one more thing we need to get through, I'm not sure how many chapters we have left, maybe around 5-6? Anywayssss, follow me on tumblr if you want! barking-hime.tumblr.com
> 
> also Lagro, Indiana is Jack's hometown in this fic (likely in others i write as well)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is actually a bit shorter than last for the mere reason that it wasn't supposed to exist, i was originally planning to jump right into the next plot point but a family emergency and a need for something cute to cheer myself up + also leave you guys with something fluffy in case I go chapterless for a few days is pretty much why this chapter exists. i'm going to be in va beach without a computer and primarily in a hospital for the next few days so that's why :/ to the people who offered to translate my spanish, i'm sorry i didn't contact you about this chapter, it was very last minute and i needed to get this published before i left for va. please correct my spanish if it's wrong. 
> 
> i like to call this chapter: how many smut implications can i make before i have to change the rating
> 
> also shout out to kat for making greyson a meme with me when i was upset. enjoy <3
> 
> p.s. this is the gayest thing i've ever written

Dating Jack Morrison was much better than Gabriel expected, and Gabriel had expected the best of the best. Gabe had never thought that the mere word "boyfriend" could bring so much joy to one person. It didn't matter in what context Jack ever used it in, he could say "my boyfriend is the edgiest jackass on this planet" and Gabriel would still be able to feel on top of the world, because he was Jack Morrison's boyfriend. That other white boy dickbag from Indiana could suck his dick because Jack Morrison was  _ his _ and Gabriel Reyes was the one that received kisses from those beautiful lips on a daily. Gabriel Reyes was the one who woke up in the mornings with a gorgeous blonde clinging to him and placing pecks down his shoulder blades. Gabriel Reyes was the one Jack had begged to watch Orange is the New Black with him, despite the cringey pronunciation of mañana in the first episode of season 3. Sure, Greyson had gotten intimate with Jack once, but Gabriel currently had 40x that. Everyday since they'd started dating, Jack had joked that Amélie had decided to move out because of just how loud he was.    
  
Barely a few days after Amélie and Lena had arrived back from their trip to Europe, she'd announced that they'd be buying a house together. Lena was Jack's roommate, which meant she'd be selling their apartment. That's how Jack ended up moving in with Gabriel, after exactly 14 days of dating. Jack had ended up getting a job at the coffeehouse next to Gabriel's place of work, insisting he wanted to help with rent. Gabriel was more concerned with the strain work would put on Jack's body rather than the rent. There was only one issue with Jack living with Gabriel, and it was that he distracted him all the damn  _ time _ . He'd be practicing his guitar and there'd suddenly be arms wrapped around his waist with kisses placed down his neck. He'd be filling out job applications and he'd end up with the most gorgeous thing he'd ever seen straddling his lap, his hand up the blonde's shirt along with purred praises of 

 

_ "Que bonito" _

 

_ "Tan jodidamente precioso" _

 

_ "Dios, estás el mejor"  _ _   
_   
Watching Jack Morrison turn to putty beneath his fingertips with every whisper in Spanish was beyond satisfying to watch, but Gabriel knew that Jack had him whipped like really fucking amazing whipped cream. The guy could ask Gabriel to do the dumbest things, and he'd do them without question. He'd once asked him to drive across town to get him a funnel cake, for no other reason than he'd just wanted one, of course Gabriel was out the door as soon as Jack had said a word.    
  
Jack Morrison was also a huge tease that seemed to want to make Gabriel's work hours a misery, not that they weren’t before. Jack had more time off than Gabe due to the symptoms of his kidney condition and need for dialysis three times a week. When he wasn't at the hospital or sleeping, he was on a personal mission to see what would rile up Gabriel the most.    
  
_ Jack: Gabi, I'm lonely :/ :( _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Gabriel: im working cariño _ __   


_ Gabriel: go play with that one stray dog that likes to hang outside the apartment building _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Jack: But that dog isn't my reaaaally hot Latino boyfriend who loves when I wear his hoodies _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Jack: and _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Jack: nothing _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Jack: else _ __   


_ Gabriel: morrison i swear to fucking god if you send a picture _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Jack sent an attachment _ __   


_ Gabriel: god damn _

_ Gabriel: okay _

_ Gabriel: give me 5 minutes _

  
Telling their friends about their relationship was nerve wracking, simply for the reason of Gabriel not wanting to hear about the "betting pool" or how people "called it." As soon as Jesse had found out, he'd insisted Jack and Gabriel go on a double date with the wannabe cowboy and probable yakuza in training, Gabriel refused. Telling Gabriel's family however, was beyond hilarious to Jack.    
  
_ "Mijo, you mean to tell me you weren't already dating?" _ _   
_ _   
_ _ "I thought they were married." _ _   
_ _   
_ _ "I didn't even know that you hadn't already come out." _   
  
  
Despite the initial confusion, Jack was welcomed with open arms for a second time. He was absolutely spoiled by Gabriel's mother and grandmother, they fed him as if he was a starving child they'd picked up off the street. Gabe was continuously teased by his brothers about their relationship, but not because he was dating a guy, but because he was dating a white guy.   
_   
_ _ "Jeez Gabi, do you lose him in the snow up here?" _ _   
_ _   
_ _ "Taking a dip in the milky way now are we?" _ _   
_   
The teasing was constant whenever he'd spoken to his brothers, but it was more than worth it because he got to wake up next to the cutest boy in all of Philadelphia, no more than Philadelphia, more like the cutest boy on this god forsaken planet.    
  
  
His eyes fluttered open to the sound of his phone's alarm blaring, and strong arms hugging his torso. Gabriel could hear the groggy mumbles coming from the blonde next to him, "Five more minutes..." was all he could make out. Jack's voice had the perfect amount of rasp accenting it, making it near impossible to resist as the pale boy nuzzled himself against his back. "Do you want me to get fired?" Gabriel grumbled back at him, Jack placing kisses down his back, "No...but I don't think it's too much to ask for some love from my boyfriend now is it?" Gabe ended up rolling over, facing Jack to kiss his forehead, "You're such a sap" the larger man whispered, the blonde grinning and reaching over to ruffle his boyfriend's hair, "Yeah, but you love me." Gabriel let out an amused snort, "To an extent" he joked. Jack huffed, crossing his arms and dramatically sulking, Gabriel pulled him back in by his waist, "I'm kidding,  _ azúcar" _ His hands stroked through golden locks, a wolfish grin softening to a smile, _ "Ya sabes te amo." _ _   
_   
It took all of his might to separate himself from Jack that morning, if he had a choice, he would call in sick that day and simply lie in bed with Jack, whispering sweet nothings in Spanish. But he didn't have a choice, he desperately needed the money for rent. Luckily, his needy boyfriend decided to forfeit sleep in preference of sneaking into the shower with Gabriel. It was the kind Gabriel enjoyed the most, without sex. It wasn't that he didn't like sex, he very much did,  __ especially  with Jack, but sometimes the innocent feeling of his hands massaging through Jack's scalp and placing kisses on his forehead was one that couldn't be replaced by anything else in the world. Having to actually leave the house to go to work was much worse than having to get out of bed, Jack had given him upwards of 10 goodbye kisses and Gabriel had made it clear that he wanted more. He'd forced himself to walk out the door, Jack Morrison really did have him whipped. The entire car ride there, he seriously considered calling his boss and pretending to be sick, but he knew Jack would probably scold him, so he continued to drive. As soon as he walked through the front doors of the diner, he noticed a buzz from his pocket. It was a text from Jack,   
  


  
_ I love you too _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont get me wrong i love boys who slowly fall in love but i have a thing for boys who fall hard and fast
> 
> translations ahoy that probably need correcting!
> 
> Tan bonito - So beautiful
> 
> Tan jodidamente precioso - So fucking gorgeous
> 
> Dios, estás el mejor - God, you're the best
> 
> cariño - dear
> 
> azúcar - sugar
> 
> Ya sabes te amo - You know I love you


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took waaaay longer than normal, I wish I had a truly amazing chapter to give y'all to make up for it but I don't sadly :/
> 
> I'll give y'all the lowdown as to why this chapter is much later than usual and why a larger time gap in between chapters might become the case
> 
> The Thursday before last, my uncle had called my mom to say that my grandmother was showing stroke-like symptoms, my grandmother being the way she is waited until Monday to drive herself 20 minutes to the hospital to find out she had a brain tumor. We live in a smallish town with a small hospital, so she was sent to Virginia Beach. They originally believed the tumor was likely benign, they had it removed with surgery but the results of whether it was malignant or benign didn't come until a few days later. We found out she has type 4 astrocytoma, also known as glioblastoma, which was something I had written about in the 2nd chapter of this fanfiction. Without chemo she has 6 months to live, with chemo she has around a year or two left. While she is doing physically great at the moment, the tumor will eventually grow back and that is when the chemo must start. 
> 
> She's currently going to be in the hospital for another 2 weeks for physical therapy, so we've been traveling up there a lot which is why I haven't had much time to write. 
> 
> ps spot the office reference
> 
> Anywayssss, I hope you guys enjoy and I'm sorry for the wait <3

Wednesdays were Gabriel's happy days, his days off where he could spend doing nothing but playing guitar, sleeping, or watching Mexican soap operas without the teasings of Jack Morrison. But the fact his boyfriend wasn't there was actually a downside, despite the fact that Jack poked fun at Gabriel's taste in tv shows. Gabe would jokingly scowl before pulling the blonde down on the couch with him, placing kisses on cheeks before cheeks turned to jawlines, which turned to neck, which went back up to lips...from there went, other places.    
  
Jack texted him constantly during his breaks however, which were much more frequent than what a normal employee received. With his messages of sappy pick up lines and random facts that no one should know, it almost felt like Jack had never left. While Gabriel's phone didn't smell as nice or have soft blonde hair, it would have to do until the boy himself got home.    
  
Jack wasn't texting for some reason however, probably passed out in the back due to overworking himself. It wasn't anything Gabriel was too concerned about himself, he decided that had Jack not texted by lunch time then he would call him. Gabriel being himself, he began to worry not long after he’d said he wouldn’t. Jack had looked a bit under the weather before he’d left, Gabe had told the boy to stay home for the day, but he refused. Gabriel could only pray that it was the simple flu or a cold, because the alternatives were much worse.

  
  


His protectiveness and inability to ever stay calm when his boyfriend could possibly be in trouble had overtaken him, he called Jack at around 10:30, no answer. Second call, still no answer. The ringing from Gabriel’s phone taunted him, “Pick up, damn you!” he shouted. After the third time, he’d noticed the sound of a vibration. Jack had left his phone at home, Gabriel would probably scold him for being so forgetful once he’d arrived home. He was grateful that the issue was a forgotten phone however, it was much better than Jack suddenly dropping dead on his way to work. 

 

~

 

Gabriel was awakened by the loud blaring of his phone, his back ached from the stiff couch, he’d figured he dozed off soon after he’d realized Jack had left his phone at the house. The soaps on TV were boring, his guitar was out for repairs, so sleeping was all he really had left. He reached for his phone, which was lying on an armrest. Who the hell would even be calling him? Jesse maybe? Once he’d grabbed it, he saw that the number was unknown. He groaned in annoyance, eventually letting the ring run it’s course. Once it’d stopped, it quickly began again. Gabriel repeated what he’d done last time, ignored the ringing. The third time, Gabriel began to become fed up. The fourth time, he reluctantly accepted the call, he’d almost screamed into the phone before he’d heard a thick German accent through the call, it was Jack’s boss.

 

“Gabriel! Hello!”

 

Gabe hadn’t known Reinhardt all that well, all he really knew was that he was German, the step-father of Fareeha Amari, a former army man, and the owner of the café next to his workplace.

 

“Uh, hey Jack’s boss” 

 

What would Reinhardt want with him? They’d barely ever talked before, the only time they had was when Gabriel had gone to pick up Jack, who’d forgotten something in the break room, leaving Gabriel with his boss who decided to show him plenty of pictures of Fareeha. The funny thing is, she was maybe around Gabriel’s age and her step-father was still taking pictures of her every move like she was a kid. 

 

“I just wanted to let you know that Jack had a bit of a fainting incidence not too long ago, it’s not something you should highly worry yourself with but he’s at the hospital-”

 

Gabriel had rushed out the door as soon as he’d heard the words “fainting” and “hospital.” That idiot should’ve remembered his phone, Gabriel would’ve picked him up as soon as he’d complained of not feeling well. The elevator went too slow for his tastes, he cursed himself for not just running down nine flights of stairs. “Not something you should worry about, my ass” he growled to himself as he unlocked his car, just barely shutting his door as he’d sped off in the direction of the hospital. He ignored the honkings of fellow drivers, as he was going much above the speed limit in which karma came back to bite him in the ass for. He felt his car begin to slow, he attempted to step on the gas again to no avail.

 

“Fuck, Fuck!” He yelled as he slammed his hand against the steering wheel. The man considered his options for a few seconds, he wait about an hour for a tow truck to take him to the hospital, or he could run two miles in 18 degree weather. He’d decided on the latter, stepping out of his car and just about ran straight into traffic to cross to the sidewalk. People likely thought he was a criminal of some sort on the run, but really he was just an extremely worried boyfriend desperate to make sure his selfless blonde was okay. 

 

Gabriel had assumed Jack would be in the emergency room, in which his assumptions were correct. He’d run through the lobby like a madman, spotting Dr. Ziegler in the hallway. 

 

“Angela!” 

 

She was smiling, a good sign, at least to Gabriel it was. “I assume you’re here for Jack?” He hadn’t noticed how heavy his breathing was, or how much it hurt to. His face was flushed, sweat building up on his brow and causing dark hair to stick to his forehead. He nodded as he attempted to catch his breath, “Before you go to smother him in kisses and scoldings, Jack’s fainting seemed to be caused by a simple case of dehydration and exhaustion. However, since he was here we decided to run a quick urinalysis to check his kidney function…” The blonde woman had gone silent, blue eyes gaze averting from Gabriel’s own, “Gabe, his kidneys are completely defunct. If he doesn’t get a transplant soon, he’s going to die.” 

 

Silence filled the space between them, 

 

_ He’s going to die  _ was all that repeated in his mind. Neither of them had almost any idea what to say, Angela was the first to speak up, “I’ve done all I can to bump him up on the transplant list, but O- is a relatively rare blood type, the best we can do is just wait.” He snarled at that, anger and denial taking over him, “Wait? Just wait? You want me to sit around and act like nothing’s happening while he’s fucking  _ dying  _ in there? There has to be something you can do, something  _ I  _ can do dammit! Can’t you like, give him my kidney or something?!” Angela shook her head, “Gabriel, if you gave him your kidney you could potentially kill him faster. People with blood type O are universal donors, however, they can only receive blood of type O. His father and sister have his blood type, but I have been unable to contact them. What I suggest you do is give Jack as much emotional support as he needs, I’m sure he’s in as much shock as you are.” 

  
Gabriel wasn’t given much of a choice except to comply, he knew he’d already made a big enough scene. When he’d entered the emergency room, he was happy to see Jack looking as flushed and...well, alive, as he normally was. Jack’s eyes met with his own, giving him a weak smile. Gabriel sat down in the plastic chair beside Jack’s bed, taking his hand in his own. 

 

“You’re sweaty”

 

Gabriel snorted, “Wow, nice to see you too.” 

 

Jack laughed, rubbing the pad of his thumb on his boyfriend’s hand, “Didn’t Rein say that it was nothing to concern yourself with?” Gabriel rolled his eyes and scoffed, “You really expect me not to worry about you?” he leaned over to place a kiss on the blonde’s forehead, “I love you too much...also you have no idea how to take care of yourself.” 

 

“You mean that?”

 

“Yes, you can’t even make the most basic of white people foods by yourself, I have no idea what you’d do if you didn’t live with me, you’d probably-”

 

“I mean before that”

 

Gabriel rolled his eyes, “You’re seriously asking me that? I’ve told you I loved you before haven’t I?” Jack shrugged, “I didn’t know if you meant it like… ‘Hey! There’s Jack! I love that guy!’ or if you like meant, that you ‘love me’ love me.” Gabe sighed and leaned over to kiss his boyfriend again, “You really are dense, Morrison. You know that?” 

 

“I love you too,  _ Reyes _ .”

 

Gabriel grinned, “I feel as if we’ve had this conversation before.” 

 

Jack laughed, “Probably”

 

~

 

_ Gabe: Jesse _

 

_ Gabe: We’re going on a road trip to Indiana _

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boutta go get his bf a kidney, 
> 
> the mchanzo + gabe shenanigans is on it's way and i'm excited to write it


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for use of a slur later in the chapter
> 
>  
> 
> hoooo boi this is a long one, it's a mega chapter cause y'all deserve it <3333 
> 
> a lot happens
> 
> also shout out to abbey 4 being cool as hell and playing overwatch with me and talking about writing ideas B)

_Jesse: And just what in the ever loving hell happened to your own car?_

 

_Gabe: broke down on my way to the hospital_

 

_Gabe: and i sort of just abandoned it in the middle of the highway_

 

_Jesse: Goddamn Reyes_

 

_Jesse: I’ll do it on two conditions_

 

_Jesse: 1. Hanzo gets to come_

 

_Gabe: thats fine i guess_

 

_Gabe: hes quiet and doesnt take up much space_

 

_Jesse: 2. I get the aux cord_

 

_Gabe: no fucking way_

 

_Gabe: i’m not listening to your hick ass country bullshit for 10 hours_

 

_Jesse: Hey now_

 

_Jesse: Save a horse ride a cowboy is not hick ass country bullshit_

 

_Jesse: It’s a work of art_

 

_Jesse: Also it’s my truck so_

 

_Jesse: My rules_

 

_Gabe: i fucking hate you_

 

_Jesse: Aw, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me all day_

 

_Gabe: and your truck is stupid_

 

_Jesse: Don’t you dare insult Bessie_

 

_Gabe: you fucking named your truck bessie_

 

_Jesse: yes_

 

_Gabe: i’d call you stupid for that but jack’s being needy_

 

_Gabe: be ready to leave tomorrow at 6 am_

 

_Jesse: You got it partner_

 

_Gabe: no fucking in the hotel room_

 

_Jesse: No blowies in the hospital_

 

_Gabe: bye_

 

~

 

Jack patted on a small space on his bed, “Lie down with me, you know I have trouble falling asleep without you here.” Gabriel raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms, “What makes you think a 6’1 man can fit on that tiny ass bed with you?” The blonde man shrugged and grinned, “Guess you’ll just have to get _reeeaally_ close to me.” Gabriel smirked back at him, placing himself next to Jack, outstretching his legs on the bed, “Are you implying I have sex with you on your hospital bed?” The boy scrunched his nose and shook his head, “I have to say that sex doesn’t sound too awful right about now, but I don’t want you to get banned for life.” Gabriel feigned a pout, putting an arm around Jack and pulling him closer, “Damn, I was really hoping I was on your ‘things to do while in the hospital’ list.” He stuck his tongue out at Gabriel, who placed a kiss on his temple in response, they simply remained like that for a good ten minutes, Jack in Gabriel’s arms who placed kisses on his cheeks and forehead before finally reaching his lips, Gabriel was the first to speak up.

 

“I’m gonna be gone for a few days, by the way…” Gabe mumbled, Jack visibly frowning and holding onto the Latino man even tighter, “Why?” He asked, Gabriel shrugged before claiming it was work related stuff. He knew Jack would attempt to stop him if he’d found out he was visiting John Morrison Sr. to convince him to donate a kidney to his dying son, but it was Jack’s last and perhaps only chance for a long, healthy life. “Well I’ll miss you, you better call everyday” The smaller man had said, Gabriel laughed, kissing his boyfriend again, “That was always in the plan, _mi sol_.”

 

Jack had fallen asleep shortly after, with Gabriel humming a familiar tune to him.

 

~

 

He’d taken a bus to Jesse’s home at around 5:30 AM, disappointed to have to leave the company of the warm, sleepy blonde next to him. Jesse McCree was nowhere near as adorable as Jack Morrison, actually, Jesse McCree wasn’t adorable at all. He unironically wore a belt buckle that said ‘BAMF’ on it and his favorite song was “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy”, what Hanzo Shimada saw in that man, Gabriel would never know.

 

“Heya Gabe!”

 

It was too early for that godawful western accent, Gabriel glared at the man, “You better have some goddamn coffee or I’m going to actually murder you.”

 

“Good morning to you as well, Gabriel.”

 

He glanced over towards Hanzo, jet black hair loosely put up and cold, pale hands clinging to a cup of tea. “Hanzo” He addressed, who merely nodded back at him. Jesse grinned, gesturing towards the obnoxiously red and large truck, “Ready to roll?”

 

Jesse carelessly threw his bag into back, Gabriel prayed it would fly out during the ride there. “Jesse, Don’t you think it would be a better idea to put your bags into the car itself? It’s supposed to snow and I do not want you to complain about your clothes being soaked through and having to walk bare in our hotel room.” Jesse laughed and patted Hanzo on the shoulder, “Aw come on babe! Ain’t nothin’ you haven’t seen before.” Hanzo scoffed at the man’s remark, “I am obviously referring to our guest.”

 

“Ain’t nothin’ he hasn’t seen before either!”

 

Gabriel groaned and put his head in his hands, “Please shut the fuck up”

 

“I’d like to know the story behind that.”

 

“No need to be jealous, sweetheart.”

 

Gabriel lifted his head and scowled at the brunette, “It was when we were in college together, we shared a dorm and I once walked in on an ass naked Jesse at 3 in the fucking afternoon, actually practicing sexy pickup lines when he had a crush on you.” He could’ve sworn he saw Hanzo crack a snort, Jesse growing red in embarrassment, “Are you a cowgurl? Cause ah could see you ridin’ me all night lawng.” Gabriel mocked, Hanzo had burst into full on laughter as Jesse groaned and pointed towards his truck, “Let’s just get goin’”

 

~

  


Jesse was loudly singing along to the Johnny Cash music that played over the speakers of the truck, that man was an awful singer. The song was about a rusty cage or something, better than the garbage they’d been listening to for the past hour before. The issue was almost never the song itself though, it was just Jesse’s singing that really made Gabriel want to punch something. He’d forgotten his headphones back at the apartment, so he was currently stuck listening to Jesse miss all of the notes of whatever country song he’d choose until Gabriel physically destroyed the stereo when he wasn’t able to take anymore.

 

Gabriel was currently confined to the backseat, Hanzo quietly sitting in front of him, it was almost amazing how he hadn’t complained once about Jesse’s music. Gabe leaned forwards toward Hanzo, “How do you put up with him?” he whispered quietly, but not quietly enough for Jesse to be unable to hear.

 

“Darlin’ here just really really loves my-”

 

Hanzo threw a hand over his boyfriend’s mouth before he could finish his sentence, giving him a cold stare, “Say another word and I’m leaving you.” He could tell he was grinning by the light in his eyes, “Pumpkin, you keep sayin’ that but yer still here!”

 

“For the love of fucking god stop with the cliché ass nicknames.”

 

Jesse snorted, “Puh-leese, I see yer texts with Jackie-boy, _mi sol, mi amor, mi corazón, cariño, azúcar, hermoso.”_ Hanzo shrugged, “I personally think it’s sweet, he’s showing his affection to Jack in his native tongue, something I’m sure he enjoys.” The man huffed, slouching in his seat as he drove, “You should give me more nicknames in Japanese, and you still ain’t told me what _anata_ or _koibito_ means.” The Japanese was incredibly butchered, something that caused a hint of amusement from Hanzo, “That’s something for me to know and for you to find out, it’s nothing incredibly exciting however.” Jesse let out something similar to a whine, “Why won’t ya tell me then?”

 

“Before you two get in a lovers quarrel about dumb Japanese nicknames, can I have the aux cord?”

 

Jesse shook his head, “We ain’t listenin’ to Gasolina on repeat.”

 

“Fuck you! That’s a good song, _pendejo_.”

 

The Japanese man sighed and unplugged Jesse’s phone, handing the cord over to Gabriel, “It’s only fair Jesse, you’ll get to play your American music again in an hour.” Jesse huffed and grumbled something under his breath,

 

“Oh gosh Hanzo, with how nice you’re being you might need to watch out for a blonde with shitty kidneys clawing your eyes out.” He jokingly purred, he was surprised when Hanzo joked back with him, “We can run off to Mexico to take refuge and begin a sugarcane farm.” He could hear Jesse mumble something similar to ‘Stop’, truthfully Gabriel knew he was being a bit cruel to poke fun at Jesse’s sensitivities, but he should know that Hanzo adores him. It was quite obvious to anyone else except Jesse himself.

 

~

 

Jack had received a call from Gabriel’s boss only a few minutes ago, he was a rather short Swedish man named Torbjörn, who did not take kindly to employees who missed work days without permission. He’d also mentioned that Jesse was missing as well, which raised concerns from Jack. Jesse was incredibly attractive, charming, healthy, and _tall._ Jesse and Gabriel were also very close as well, and they’d known each other a lot longer than Jack and Gabriel had known each other. He’d called Gabe immediately after Torbjörn had hung up on him,

 

“Could you explain to me why your _boss_ just called me and said you were not at work, which you’re supposed to be gone for?”

 

“Jack-”

 

“Could you also tell me why Jesse isn’t at work either, and as to why both of you are likely going to be gone for 3 days?”

 

“Jack, what the hell are you saying here?”

 

“Just tell me honestly if that 3 day trip is to get away from your sick ass and needy ass boyfriend to fuck your wanna-be cowboy best friend”

 

“Jesus fuck Jack, that’s perhaps the most insane thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.”

 

“Is it?”

 

“Why would I cheat on you in the first place?”

 

Jack bit his lip, “Because I’m dying and you feel too bad to break up with me, so you’re just gonna wait it out with a side piece.”

 

“Correction, _that_ is the most insane thing I’ve ever heard in my life. I am with Jesse right now, but I promise you I’m not riding a cowboy. That’s Hanzo’s job.”

 

He could hear the greetings of the other two men in the background, “I can’t tell you exactly what I’m doing, but I promise you I’m not cheating, okay? I love you.”

 

“Love you too…” He murmured before Gabriel had hung up, so Gabriel wasn’t cheating on him, but he was still lying about something. Something that Jack wouldn’t like, something that would make Jack angry. He’d given it a thought for a good five minutes before those thoughts were interrupted by a familiar brunette from his past walking through the door.

 

“Greyson?”

 

~

 

Hanzo had eventually convinced Jesse to give him his turn with the aux cord, in favor of some rather calming Japanese music. It had actually managed to make the trip seem more than just driving through cornfields and grasslands, his thoughts quickly averted to Jack Morrison. Why the actual _fuck_ would Jack ever think he’d cheat on him? Did he not tell him he loved him enough? Did he not call him cute Spanish nicknames enough? And why the actual hell would Jack immediately assume Jesse McCree would be the guy he’d cheat on him with? The thought of Jesse McCree being his boyfriend was an insult in itself.

 

“How long have we been driving?” Gabriel groaned, scrolling through his phone as a distraction. “Well, we’re ‘bout to be in Pittsburgh so ‘round 5 hours? Halfway there.” He let out yet another groan, before taking a bite of his shitty fast food breakfast. He’d been on and off texting Jack ever since he’d called, which had been maybe 3 hours ago, he wished he could tell Jack exactly what his small trip was about, just to soothe the man’s worries, but he couldn’t.

 

“How’re things with Jackie goin’? Still think yer gonna stick yer dick inside of me?”

 

Gabriel scowled at Jesse’s comment, Hanzo had let out a snort, “Probably, but not happening, sorry to crush your dreams.” Jesse dramatically pouted, “Damn, was really hoping for a threesome with you and Hanzo.”

 

“That’s disgusting”

 

“Oh you wound us, Gabe!”

 

Gabriel rolled his eyes at Jesse, “Just keep driving, cowboy.”

 

~

 

“How did you even know I was in the hospital?”

 

“Your sister let it slip during Christmas”

 

Jack stared over at his childhood friend, sitting in the plastic chair adjacent to his bed where Gabriel normally sat. He’d looked exactly the same as the last time he’d seen him, disheveled brunette hair, ivory skin, a minor scar that ran down his jawline from when he’d fallen from their treehouse as a child, and hazel eyes that would pierce Jack’s sapphire blues. They didn’t anymore however, Greyson’s hazel eyes brought nothing to Jack but mere memories of his past that still brought pain to him. From the way his former best friend would look at him, it was almost as if their roles as reversed from what they were six years ago. Greyson had smiled at him in a way that Jack had only ever seen on one other person, but he’d prefered that smile on brown lips that were tinged pink, Gabriel’s lips.

 

“So how are you feeling?” Greyson asked, taking off his coat and placing it on the end of Jack’s bed. The blonde softly smiled over towards him, secretly wishing Gabriel was there to immediately throw an arm around him to tell him to back off, “Not great” he admitted, “I need a transplant very soon because my kidneys are kind of defunct at this point and I fainted at work a few days ago, I think the only good thing that’s happened lately was my boyfriend stayed here last night.” He put emphasis on the word boyfriend, but he knew Greyson would raise an eyebrow at the fact Gabriel wasn’t there, and in fact he did.

 

“Boyfriend? Where is he now?” Greyson had asked, resting his hand on his chin. Jack looked down towards his lap, avoiding eye contact with his ex-love, “Work related trip” he’d lied, Greyson furrowed his eyebrows, “He couldn’t take time off for a sick boyfriend?” The blonde glared over, “Don’t” he said through gritted teeth. It was a habit Greyson had always had, ever since Jack had gotten his first boyfriend in Freshman year, Greyson always judged them and attempted to drag Jack as far away from them as possible, it usually worked.

 

“Don’t do that, please. We’re not teenagers anymore, this isn’t high school, you don’t have me on a tight leash anymore.” Jack retorted, crossing his arms, refusing to be moved. Greyson did nothing but nod at Jack, “Noted”

 

~

 

They’d arrived at their hotel in Fort Wayne at around 2 PM, 45 minutes from Jack’s hometown of Lagro. Jesse wasn’t incredibly sure as to why he agreed to go on this trip with Gabe, he could’ve just let the man borrow his truck and be done with it. The drive there was boring at most, Ohio and Indiana had nothing in them except for cornfields and weird looking huts that were apparently filled with salt.

 

Gabriel was originally planning on visiting the Morrisons that afternoon, but Hanzo had convinced him he should practice more on what he was planning to say to Jack’s father. He’d left only a few minutes ago for some fresh air, leaving Jesse and Hanzo alone together. Hanzo had just gotten out of the shower, damp raven hair framing his face, a towel loosely wrapped around his hips. Jesse outstretched his arms, “C’mere darlin’ let me love on you.”

 

Hanzo had originally strode over to grab some clothes from his bag, but Jesse shook his head, “Just get over here” The taller man said, impatiently waiting for his boyfriend to crawl into his arms. Hanzo did what was asked of him, kneeling onto the bed before being swept up by Jesse, holding onto him like it was the last time. Calloused fingers ran through wet hair, kisses placed on his boyfriend’s mouth. Hanzo already had a good grip on Jesse’s shaggy brunette hair as well, slight whimpers peaking through as Hanzo tugged.

 

“Tell me you still love me” Jesse whispered breathily against his neck, peppered in purple marks from previous occasions. Hanzo had immediately stopped to take a hold on Jesse’s shoulders, pulling him up to look him in the eye.

 

“What?”

 

“Just say it sugar, please just say it, soothe my worries.” Jesse begged, but Hanzo wasn’t amused, at all. The man attempted to press his lips against Hanzo’s again, but his lips were quickly covered by a finger. “A year ago you proposed that we marry, and I had said yes.” Jesse stared on at his boyfriend, opening his mouth to say something but Hanzo had quickly cut him off, “You are a fool to believe I do not still want to spend the rest of my life with you, Jesse McCree.” He’d said sternly, but Jesse wasn’t fully convinced by his words, “Then why haven’t you told anyone we’re gettin’ married, huh?” He growled back at Hanzo, who did not but blankly stare, “You have not mentioned it to anyone either, I was waiting for you to discuss with me what our plans were.” He responded sternly, Jesse looking incredibly guilty, “So what d’ya wanna do then?”

 

“Perhaps we can start by telling Gabriel” He suggested, Jesse nodding in agreement, “Sounds like a plan, sug’” He leaned to place a kiss on Hanzo’s cheek, who tilted for their lips to meet, “But I do in fact love you.”

 

“Love you too, honey”

  


~

 

Jack had to admit he enjoyed Greyson’s company, it had slowly begin to feel like old times. They’d read comic books together, talk about their memories from their high school football team, and discuss what life was for Greyson back in Lagro, and for Jack in Philadelphia. “Any girlfriends?” Jack had asked him, that was how it was confirmed to him that Greyson was actually bisexual. He’d had a few boyfriends since he’d graduated high school, most of them being in his college years at Purdue University.

 

“Not many single gay or bi guys in Lagro, but I can’t really afford to live anywhere else. So I’ll work with what I’ve got.” He said, a lopsided smile forming on his face. Jack smiled back at him, “I’m sure you’ll find someone.”

 

Amélie had entered the room shortly after, “Jack, _chéri_ , I stopped by your favorite place in the world on my way here, Panera Bread. Jesus, how does Gabi put up with your addiction to that place? It’s-” She cut herself off at the sight of Greyson, looking visibly displeased. Her gaze shifted between the two of them, “Am I interrupting something?” She spat, her tone as sharp as a knife. She knew exactly who Greyson was, she’d never met him but Amélie had this thing where she just knew _exactly_ who anyone was just based on how Jack had described them.

 

“Not at all” Jack said through a gritted smile, praying to god she wouldn’t worry Gabriel with something as dumb as the fact Greyson was briefly visiting him. Jack would never be unfaithful to Gabriel, especially not with Greyson. Amélie sat down on the end of Jack’s bed, if looks could kill, Greyson would be a pile of ash on the floor. “I’m only here for a brief moment, _Gabriel_ had asked me to stop by and check on you and to bring you food. He also asked for me to check on the apartment that you two _share_ . His phone doesn’t have amazing service so he asked for me to tell you that he _misses you_ and _loves you_ so much.” Jack could tell Greyson was absolutely terrified of Amélie, and Jack currently was too at the moment. “He also requests that you stop _sexting_ him because it’s driving him insane.” Jack hadn’t sexted Gabriel at all since he’d been gone, he knew what Amélie was doing and he decided to just roll with it. He knew that her brief visit was no longer so brief, as she’d stayed there as long as she could before Greyson had finally left.

 

“Jack, I know you’re an idiot sometimes but what the _hell_?”

 

He sighed and shook his head, “Amé, you know it’s nothing. I love Gabriel and Greyson is merely an old friend, nothing more.”

 

“Explain why he undresses you with his eyes then?”

 

Jack bit his lip, Greyson was being a little flirty, he’d had to give her that, but it wasn’t reciprocated at all. Jack constantly thought of Gabriel, whenever Greyson spoke, Jack could do nothing but think of how Gabriel would retort to it or show Greyson exactly who was boss. “Amélie, it’s not a big deal, really.” He insisted, “Greyson just wanted to say hey and catch up with me.”

 

“But you clearly are forgetting the fact the two of you fucked and you were in love with him, or you’re still in love with him. Are you?”

 

“No!” He growled at her, “I don’t see why you have to make a big deal out of it, I’ve made it very clear that I’m no longer interested in him, I don’t know what else to tell you.”

 

She tapped her purple colored lips with a finger, humming before speaking up “Fine, I’ll take your word, but if you dare cheat on Gabriel with a piece of soggy white bread, I’m going to ruthlessly murder you.”

 

“Understood” He’d said, jokingly saluting at the woman.

 

~

 

Gabriel didn’t leave for Lagro until 4 PM the next day, he was much too terrified. He had gone over what to say to Mr. Morrison in his head countless times, but the words seem to escape from him. Hanzo had opted to stay back at the hotel room, Gabriel offered to drive on his own but Jesse refused to let the man get his hands on “Bessie.”

 

“So what’re we lookin’ for again?”

 

“A giant wooden sign that says ‘The Morrisons’”

 

Jesse nodded, keeping his eyes on the snow covered road. “Beautiful out here, ain’t it?” The man mused, Gabriel’s arms crossed as he glanced over, shrugging at his comment, “It’s okay, I guess.”

 

Gabriel tried to avoid small talk the rest of the way there, but knowing Jesse, that was difficult. He talked about every little thing they saw, a dead cornstalk, a broken tree, a kid that got smacked in the face with a snowball, a dead raccoon on the side of the road, there wasn’t a single thing Jesse McCree couldn’t make a conversation about. “Oh man! Look, doesn’t that cloud look like Hanzo?” He exclaimed

 

Gabriel Reyes was almost grateful when they’d arrived at the Morrison farm, but the realization had quickly sunk in. He, Jack Morrison’s boyfriend, had to ask Jack Morrison’s incredibly homophobic and borderline abusive dad for a kidney for a son the man likely hadn’t spoken to in over 5 years.

 

Out front was a girl, who couldn’t be much older than maybe 15. She was was throwing a stick for an older looking dog, “C’mon boy! Don’t tell me you’re getting weak on me!” She shouted encouragingly as the dog trotted after the small branch, when she glanced over at Gabriel, he could tell she was one of Jack’s sisters. While her hair was brunette in comparison to Jack, they had the same piercing blue eyes. “Heya!” She shouted out to them, as if they were friends she hadn’t seen in awhile, she ran over to the truck after Jesse had parked, “You lookin’ for dad?” They both stepped out of the car, Jesse kneeling down to her height, “Yeah, mind tellin’ us where he is?” He asked with a wink, the girl shot finger guns at him with a laugh, “He’s inside with ma, can I ask who you guys are?”

 

The cowboy grinned, “Friends of your brother, I’m Jesse and that’s Gabe” he said, motioning towards the Latino who was currently freezing his ass off. “Friends of Jacks?! Are you his boyfriend?” She asked Jesse excitedly, who shook his head and pointed towards Gabriel again, “Aw shucks, naw. Gabe here is though.” She scanned him up and down, “Didn’t know Jack was into hot Latino guys.”

 

She grabbed Jesse and Gabe’s arms, dragging them inside, “Ma! Some friends of Jacks are here to see Pa!” She shouted.

 

The Morrison estate was as exactly as Gabriel expected it, incredibly large and well furnished. On the walls hung vintage photos of what likely were old family members, who’d served in the military. There pictures of a very large family, and it was quite easy to pick Jack’s father out if the lineup. A tall, greying blonde, stern looking man who seemed to not even have the ability to crack a smile. Jack was in one, maybe two pictures. He knew that his dad had likely taken down most pictures of Jack.

 

A brunette woman peeked through the archway that connected the kitchen to a living room in which he stood. “Friends of Jack’s?” She motioned for the girl to head up to her room as the man shown in the picture followed behind his wife. He looked exactly like Jack in a way, but also looked nothing like him at the same time. He didn’t emit the same glow as Jack did, he didn’t smile like him, he didn’t smile at all. Jesse stepped back for Gabriel to face Jack’s father, “H-hello sir” He mumbled, outreaching his hand, “I’m Gabriel”

 

The man lightly took his hand to shake it, “John, John Morrison.” He said, his voice sounded gruff, raspy even. “What do you want?” He asked harshly, causing Gabriel to be taken aback a bit. He’d expected Jack’s dad to be a little scary, but definitely not this terrifying. “J-Jacks ah, really sick sir, his kidneys are completely shot and I was-”

 

“No”

 

“You didn’t even listen to what I was going to say.”

 

“I know what you’re going to say, and no.”

 

Gabriel could feel the anger rise up in himself, this man was absolutely insufferable! “You aren’t even going to help your dying son, even a little?” The man snorted at Gabe, “That bastard doesn’t deserve any selflessness from me, he was selfish enough to put an end to the Morrison name.”

 

Jesse attempted to pull Gabriel back and be on there way, but Gabriel refused to be stopped, “Did you just fucking call Jack Morrison _selfish?_ ” He snapped back, balling his fists as he ragingly stared on at the elder man, who merely crossed his arms. “You barely know him, kid.” was all he grumbled back, “I don’t give a damn if he’s biologically my kid, he ain’t my son anymore, not since he became a _faggot._ ” He snapped back, Jesse had to physically restrain Gabriel and drag him back to the truck, it was right of him to do so, because Gabe was about to punch that man square in the face.

 

~

 

_Amélie: Hey_

_Amélie: Just wanted to let you know there’s a white boy trying to get in your boyfriend’s pants_

_Gabe: what?_

_Amélie: Some guy named Greyson has been undressing your boyfriend with his eyes for hours today, and yesterday._

_Amélie: Thought you should know_

_Gabe: are you fucking serious_

_Amélie: I wouldn’t be texting you if I wasn’t_

_Gabe: god fucking dammit_

_Gabe: why didnt he tell me_

_Amélie: Probably didn’t wanna worry you_

_Amélie: Or he’s still in love with Greyson_

_Amélie: I don’t know which_

_Gabe: wow thanks for that_

_Amélie: You’re welcome_

_Amélie: I’ll talk to you later_

Gabriel shoved his phone in his pocket, gripping onto the railings and attempting to keep himself in line. It was difficult though, he almost punched Jack’s father in the face and was then suddenly told that his boyfriend, whom he was in love with, could possibly be in love with someone else, who was there when Gabriel couldn’t be. He did all he could to stop himself from grabbing his phone from his pocket and dialing Jack’s number, but his emotions and anger overtook him.

 

“Gabe?”

 

“What’s this I fucking hear about Greyson practically boning you in the hospital?” Gabriel spat, gripping onto his phone as he awaited for a response from his boyfriend. “What are you talking about?” Jack had responded innocently, but Gabriel was having none of it, “Don’t play fucking dumb with me, Morrison. What the fuck is this I hear about Greyson being there?” He could hear Jack’s shaky breathing through the call, “Gabe, Greyson is here-” Gabriel snorted before Jack could add anything else else, “Should’ve fuckin’ known that you’d go and call your white guy side piece the moment you got lonely.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“How about you fuck him right now? I know he’s there, hi Greyson!” He said, feigning a pleasant voice as he gripped on even tighter to his phone, “Wouldn’t be the second time I’ve fucked a straight guy.” Jack spat back at him, “Where the hell even are you right now? Off fucking some barfly because you got bored of your little sexuality experiment?”

 

“I’m going, I can’t fucking handle you right now.”

 

“Fine, run off. You were never serious about us anyways.”

 

Gabriel had nearly shattered his phone from how forcefully he’d thrown it after hanging up on Jack, that insufferable _prick_

“Gabe, everythin’ alright?” Jesse had asked, head peeking through the door of the hotel room. Gabriel shrugged, “I’m fine, just fuck off for a minute..okay?” He wasn’t sure if they’d just broken up or not, he hoped not, but he was much too stubborn to call back and apologize at that moment.

 

_God dammit Morrison_

 

_~_

 

Jack rarely cried, he hated crying. He hadn’t cried when he’d learned that his kidneys were failing, he hadn’t cried when Greyson had rejected him, he hadn’t cried when his dad had rejected him from their family either, Jack Morrison was nowhere near a crier. But the waterworks seemed to be pouring from his eyes at that very moment as he sit in his hospital room, completely alone. His knees were pulled to his chest, which was in a lot of that pain at that moment. His breath was beginning to shorten, and the pain had only gotten worse. Jack assumed it was a mere panic attack, but when things went blank, it was clear it wasn’t.

 

_He’s flatlining!_

 

~

 

Gabe: Jack, if you think I’m not serious about us, you’re dead wrong. I’m sorry for lashing out on you, I’ve had a really shitty day and hearing Greyson was there begging to put his dick in you only made it worse. You know you mean so much to me, you aren’t a sexuality experiment at all, I mean fuck, I’m pretty sure I’m so fucking in love with you that it’s a little crazy. I wouldn’t ever cheat on you and it was wrong of me to assume that you would do that to me. I promise I’ll be back soon, I love you so much, _mi sol_.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HHHHHHHHH SORRY GUYSSSSS
> 
> Translations:
> 
> mi sol - my sun
> 
> mi amor - my love
> 
> mi corazón - my heart
> 
> cariño - dear, darling
> 
> azúcar - sugar
> 
> hermoso - beautiful
> 
> chéri - darling (used in a friendly way by Ame)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're getting to the end zone here, one more official chapter left before an epilogue. those two should be long too, enjoy my flower children <3

_ He was in their apartment, in their kitchen to be exact. It felt late, but there was no sky to be seen through the windows. The clock on the stove showed nothing but 00:00. He was stuck in some kind of purgatory, or he was in the afterlife. He looked down at himself, he was in one of Gabriel’s shirts, his favorite one, it was the one that always smelled strongest of him. A humming sound came from behind Jack, before he could turn to see what it was, he was twirled around to come face to face with Gabriel Reyes. No words were spoken between the two, Gabriel just continued to hum as he swept Jack across the floor of their apartment. These moments had happened before, and they were some of his favorites. Jack would be fooling around with cooking in the kitchen at 3 AM, and Gabriel would come up behind him to wrap strong arms around his waist before twirling him to come face to face with a sleepy looking Gabriel, who simply hummed as they’d slow dance in their kitchen. It was a familiar song, but Jack couldn’t quite put a name on it.  _

 

_ His head rested under Gabriel’s chin, holding onto the man, desperately. “Gabi, I’m sorry…” He mumbled, “You have nothing to apologize for, mi amor.” The man said, placing a kiss atop of the blonde man’s head. “Gabriel, If I’m dead…does that mean you’re dead too?” _

 

_ “Who said you were dead?”  _

 

_ Jack leaned back, furrowing his brow as he looked into Gabriel’s soft, brown eyes. “So if I’m not dead, and this isn’t the afterlife...this must be a dream?” Gabriel shook his head, continuing to dance with the blonde, “It’s not that either, there’s no word to exactly describe what this is. But you’ve chosen a moment like this, and you chose me to spend this time with, there is a reason for that.” Jack nodded, placing himself back under Gabriel’s chin, “How much time do I have left? In here, I mean.” Gabe shrugged, “You can go back any time, cariño.”  _

 

_ “I’m not sure if I want to.” _

 

_ ~ _

 

Gabriel and Jesse arrived back at the hotel only an hour ago, his argument with Jack 45 minutes ago. He’d been desperately texting Jack to try and apologize since 30 minutes ago, but he received nothing back. Jesse was looking visibly shaken, raising questions from his boyfriend.

 

“ _ Anata _ , is everything okay?” 

 

Gabriel lifted his head from his pillow to look over at Jesse, who was slowly shaking his head. “Lena texted me saying Jack had flatlined, and said nothing else. I’ve been blowing her up asking if he was dead or not, but she hasn’t responded.” 

 

Fear settled into the pit of his stomach, mixing in with regret and anger. No, no, no, this wasn’t happening. Gabriel Reyes had not just gotten into an argument with his boyfriend, who could very likely be dead. That didn’t happen, that  _ couldn’t  _ have happened. Jack  _ couldn’t  _ have died without knowing he loved him, that couldn’t be the end of their story, he refused for it to be. “We’re going to the hospital, right now” was all Gabriel could say, Jesse had attempted to protest about check out times, but Gabriel would make the hotel allow them to check out if he had to. 

  
  


“I’m afraid that even if we were allowed to check out, we will not be going anywhere” Hanzo held up his phone for Gabriel to see, a notification that claimed

 

_ Blizzard Warning: All non emergency vehicles must be off the road by 6 PM in this area until further notice. _

 

Gabriel flopped back down on his bed, he wanted to scream, he wanted to cry. At the same time, he really did not want to do either of those things in front of Jesse or Hanzo. He pulled his phone from his pocket, he knew there was no cell service, it had stopped working not that long ago. He just had to try, he had to.

 

_ Gabe: please be okay _

 

_ Gabe: please fucking be okay _

 

_ Gabe: i love you so much _

 

_ Gabe: i love you so fucking much _

 

_ Gabe: do you hear me you fucking dense gringo _

 

_ Gabe: I LOVE YOU _

 

His texts all bounced back, a red exclamation point indicating that they had failed to send. He ended up vomiting on the carpet from fear, Hanzo had graciously pulled his hair back before making him microwaved tea. Jesse had merely cringed at the spot on the floor, stepping out to ask a janitor for cleaning supplies. “You know, I had the same reaction when I had thought Genji had died after that car accident we were in, I threw up on one of the nurses who was caring for me. They had to sedate me afterwards because I was screaming for him.” Truthfully, Gabriel wasn’t listening. It wasn’t Hanzo’s fault though, there was a loud ringing in Gabriel’s ears and his vision was beginning to blur. “Hanzo, I think I’m about to pass out.” Hanzo carefully adjusted him so that his head would land on his pillow, 

 

“I am praying for Jack,  _ nakama. _ ”

 

~

 

Jack’s eyes fluttered open to the blurred sight of Greyson, Lena, and Amélie. Lena’s eyes were bloodshot, she’d likely been crying, Greyson had a tight grip on Jack’s hand, and Amélie looked as if she was about to murder the brunette. Jack muttered something that was clearly inaudible to the three, he attempted to sit up but Greyson had quickly insisted he lie down. “You were clinically dead for a good two minutes Jack, and then slept your ass off for 6 hours” Jack was still incredibly confused, dazed, and apparently all he could manage to audibly say was,

 

“Gabe” 

 

He repeated it a few times over, Greyson looked visibly distraught as Amélie tried to hold back a snort. “W-where is he?” Jack managed to croak out, Greyson shaking his head, the corners of his lips turning down, “Not here, like he’s always been, why do you ask?” Amélie looked displeased at Greyson’s comment, but glanced over to Jack for a response. It took him a few minutes to gain his speaking ability back, a few sips of water and he was prepared,

 

“I had a dream about him, no, it wasn’t a dream. I think it was when I was clinically dead, it was somewhere in between life and death if that makes sense. I was in our apartment, it felt like it was late but the sky was completely white and the stove showed no time except 00:00. I don’t remember why I was in the kitchen but I had heard humming coming from behind me, it was a song that was familiar to me but I couldn’t place a name on it. The next thing I knew I was being swept across the floors of our apartment, it was something that had happened before, Gabriel said there was a reason I had chosen that moment and him to be apart of whatever that place was.” Amélie looked satisfied with his answer, but Greyson not so much. “You’d chosen a guy who doesn’t even care enough to be here after you were clinically dead as your afterlife?” He grumbled, Amélie shooting a cold stare at Greyson, “You know nothing of Gabriel.”

 

“What is there not to know? Jack deserves someone who-”

 

“Jack deserves someone who doesn’t fuck them, knowing that he’s in love with him and then break his heart.” 

 

Greyson looked as if he was about to retort, but Amélie cut him off again, quickly. “And Jack wasn’t supposed to know this but I’m dead tired of your snide comments.” She turned to face the blonde, who was watching the argument unfold between them, “He’s in Indiana right now, he just begged your dad to donate a kidney to you and almost punched him in the face in your honor. He didn’t want to tell you because he knew you’d try to stop him, he certainly loves you more than this Eli Manning wannabe over here.”

 

“If anything I’m Jimmy Garoppolo…” Greyson mumbled back, Lena, who was silent for the last 5 minutes shook her head. “You’re truthfully not as attractive, love.” Amélie snorted at her comment, but Jack was still stuck on the fact that Gabriel had just gone to Indiana to get a kidney for him. From what he’d seen on TV, there was a blizzard relatively close to Jack’s hometown. That’s why Gabriel hadn’t come back, that’s why Angela couldn’t come into contact with him. Lena was the last one to be able to contact either Jesse or Gabe, but apparently she’d only said that Jack flatlined. 

 

Gabriel thinks he’s dead. 

 

~

 

Of course Jesse had decided to wait until then to tell Gabe that he and Hanzo are getting married. Of course he’d wait until Gabe was unsure of his own boyfriend’s status to tell him that he and Hanzo would be spending the rest of their lives together. That was just great. Just great. Hanzo had scolded Jesse for saying something at such a tender time, but Gabriel was more bothered by the thought of forever. If Jack wouldn’t be around, then what? If you asked Gabriel Reyes a year ago who’d he’d thought he’d spend forever with, he’d shrug and say forever was stupid and unattainable. If you asked him a week ago who he’d spend forever with, he’d say Jack Morrison before you could even finish your sentence. 

 

If Jack wasn’t his forever, there wasn’t much of a point of forever. 

 

“Hey Gabe, they’ve servin’ up a buffet of food in the dinin’ area for a while, can’t believe they’re still open at midnight, you want anything?” Jesse called out, throwing on a flannel as Hanzo waited patiently by the door. Gabriel shook his head and wavered them out, “You guys go, I need to be alone.” He grumbled, Hanzo and Jesse silently nodded, only a soft shut of the door signifying their absence. He sat up on his bed, crawling over to face the window. He was on his knees, clasping his hands together. He never believed in praying or talking to the dead, but he acted like it to please his very Catholic mother and grandmother. However, he didn’t see anything else he could do at this point. He was trapped in a shitty Days Inn during a blizzard with no cell service, during times like this, there was only one person he could ever talk to, even if he didn’t get an answer back.

 

“Sofíe, I have a favor to ask of you.” He whispered, “I got into an argument with someone I love before he could have possibly died. If he has died, there’s no doubt in my mind he’s up there with you. He’s the perfect all American boy that could do no wrong, even when he was hospital bound, he always found a way to do good. Even if it was as simple as helping an old woman carry her bags to her car, he always find a way to touch people’s lives for the better. He didn’t just touch my life though, he held it in a tight embrace. The funny thing is, two years ago I’d call myself a fucking idiot for saying all of this about someone who I haven’t even been with for all that long. I’m still calling myself a fucking idiot for not being there, I still call myself a fucking idiot for saying those awful things to him. Basically what I’m saying is, if he’s up there, tell him I love him, okay? Just tell him that, please.” 

 

As he went silent, he noticed the shuffling of someone in the background, he quickly turned around to reveal Jesse in the doorframe. 

 

“That was beautiful, Gabe.”

 

Gabe snarled and buried his head in his hands, “Just shut up.”

 

~ 

 

Gabriel was shaken awake at around 6 AM, the lights were on and Jesse was dressed and showered. “Get up Gabe, we’re breakin’ out of here.” Gabriel stared at Jesse, highly confused, “We can’t be on the road remember-” Jesse quickly shushed him and pulled him up from his bed, “In 30 miles we can be! Just gotta play it cool and safe, take some back roads too. We gotta take a south route though, huge storms across where we came. It’ll take close to a day to get there, but I’m all coffeed up and ready to roll!” Gabriel stumbled up, grabbing whatever t-shirt and jeans were on the floor and heading to the bathroom to change. Hanzo had already packed his bags for him, so it wasn’t long until they were on the road. Hanzo had opted to sit in the back with Gabriel, apparently he didn’t have much confidence in the cowboy’s ability to drive through a blizzard either. His phone had died in the hotel room, and none of them had thought to bring a portable car charger, so texting Jack to see if he was alive was out of the question. It wouldn’t have mattered anyways, apparently the cell towers had failed in Philadelphia according to the news channel Hanzo was streaming on his phone. It had felt like they’d been driving for years, but Jesse had confirmed it was a lot less than that. 

 

“We’re on hour six! Hour six, y’all!” Jesse said happily as he took another swig from his coffee mug, the bag the coffee came in was labelled “Death Wish”, apparently it was the world’s strongest coffee, and Jesse was making that very clear. Gabriel was resting his head against the window, watching as the snow began to fall down lighter and lighter. He was surprised that they’d managed to get out of that blizzard alive, Jesse could barely drive safely on a nice day. They were somewhere in Kentucky at this point, it was about the same as the last six hours though. The only interesting place they’d driven though was Indianapolis, but they had only stopped at McDonalds for a quick breakfast. 

 

They didn’t stop again until they reached Washington D.C., albeit the occasional rest stop if anyone had to use the bathroom, but Jesse seemed as determined to reach the hospital as Gabriel was. It was midnight, and they had decided to make a swing by Denny’s because they were honestly all starving. Jesse was almost passed out at that point, Hanzo had offered to drive but Jesse quickly declined. Gabriel was too busy moping around to even pretend like he was willing to, he had his head down on the table as Jesse and Hanzo awkwardly shuffled in the booth across from him. The waitress had come by to take their orders, “I’ll have the Honey Jalapeño Slam, no no no, I’ll have the Ultimate Skillet, WAIT no! the Santa Fe Skillet.” Hanzo had chosen to just take a glass of water, Gabriel didn’t even care enough to lift his head.

 

“Uh sir...is your friend, is he..” The waitress had lowered her voice, “is he drunk..or hungover?” Jesse shook his head, “Nope! His boyfriend might be dead, so he’s pretty upset.” Silence filled their table, the waitress had awkwardly nodded, “Ah..might…? I mean, sorry to hear that.” She lightly patted Gabriel’s shoulder and scurried off. Jesse snorted at that awkward encountered, Hanzo lightly smacked his shoulder in scolding. 

 

That lady must have been new, because in reality, it was likely just another normal occurrence at Denny’s. 

 

~

 

They reached the hospital at 2:30 AM, Gabriel’s stomach was practically in his throat at this point. He wondered when he walked into Jack’s room, what would be there? Would there be a new patient? Jack’s lifeless body? Jesse had opted to drop off Gabriel at the hospital, claiming he and Hanzo would be staying at a hotel nearby because he was too exhausted to drive them back home. Gabriel could feel himself shake as he entered through the automatic doors, whether or not Greyson was there was something that didn’t matter to him at the moment, that guy could seriously go fuck himself if he tried to argue with him. He found himself standing in the elevator with a young woman, who was desperately crying, apparently her husband had just died and she was pregnant with their child. Gabriel had explained that his boyfriend might be dead, he couldn’t totally be sure because he was in Indiana during a blizzard when he’d received the news. She smiled at him and gave him a light hug, saying that she hoped his boyfriend was alive and would be well. He hoped so too. 

  
  


He’d stepped out from the elevator, fluorescent lights illuminating the hallway. While he desperately wanted to see Jack, dead or alive, he was also terrified at what he might find. While Jack was the optimistic light in his life, it couldn’t remove the pessimism that Gabriel had always had. It was something he was born with. When he reached Jack’s room, he stood outside of the door for a good five minutes. He was scared, while he was expecting Jack to be dead, he was still terrified to see it. His hand shakily reached for the handle, slowly turning it. He’d quickly swung open the door, eyes slammed shut.

 

He counted to ten before opening, but all he knew was that the room was dark. There seemed to be no one else in the room, there was nothing he could hear but the mild noises of a monitor. When he’d opened his eyes, his glance immediately jerked to the stats. Heart rate of 97, blood pressure of 158/99, things that seemed exactly like Jack, but it wasn’t confirmed until he saw the lights from the next building over illuminate his sleeping silhouette. The rise and fall of his chest was enough to make Gabriel want to cry, but what he ended up doing was gently nudging Jack over to make room for himself. The blonde man began to stir, but Gabriel quickly hushed him, but Jack didn’t listen. They came face to face, noses pressed together as Gabriel’s hand came up to caress Jack’s cheek. Sapphire eyes met with chocolate brown ones, the monitor was all that could be heard between them, but the silence spoke for itself. 

 

“Gabe…” 

 

Gabriel was at a loss for words, he wasn’t sure what was appropriate to say in this situation. 

 

_ Hey babe! Glad you’re not dead! _

 

Jack lifted up his hand to cup Gabriel’s own, which was currently stroking along his cheekbone. They’d spent a few minutes like that, Gabriel staring at his Jack in shock while Jack showed he was more than happy to be reunited with him. Jack softly pressed his lips against Gabriel’s, but he felt something wet against his cheeks. Jack had to make sure that he wasn’t crying, his eyes were completely dry. 

 

It was Gabriel who was crying. 

 

Jack had used his other hand to wipe Gabriel’s tears with the pad of his thumb, “I’m perfectly alive, sweetheart, no need to cry.” Gabriel couldn’t help but lightly chuckle, “I never thought I’d feel that again, your dumb lips kissing mine...I threw up on the carpet of a Holiday Inn when Lena had texted Jesse that you had flatlined, it’s hard not to cry.” Jack let go of Gabriel’s hand to wrap his arms around him, pulling him close before burying his face in his shoulder. “I’m sorry for being such a jerk to you, Gabi, I’m so sorry.” He mumbled, Gabriel placed a hand on the small of his back, the other stroking through blonde hair. “You have nothing to apologize for, I was a fucking dick. I lashed out at you because I was in a bad mood, I went too far.” He whispered back to him. Gabriel continued to stroke through his hair, taking comfort in the warmth of his body and the feeling of his breath against his shoulder. He loved these moments, even since before this entire situation, but he had just learned how important they were to him.

 

“I was dead you know, for a minute or two. And I saw something.”

 

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, rubbing up his back, “Hm? What was it?” He asked, Jack letting out a hum. “It was our apartment, I was in the kitchen. You were there, and we did that thing where you come up behind me and just sweep me off my feet. There would be no music, just your humming. I think it was the afterlife trying to tell me to take importance in the little moments.” Gabe smiled fondly at the memory, it had happened a few times before and sometimes lasted for hours as they would sway together in their pajamas at 3 AM. “Well, we can’t dance, but would you enjoy the humming?” Jack nodded, so Gabriel did what he’d promised. He had hummed until Jack had fallen asleep, probably drooling on this shoulder. Gabriel didn’t care, he’d take a lifetime of a drooling Jack over a dead one. 

 

~

 

_ Unknown Number: Is this Gabriel Reyes? _

 

_ Gabe: uh yes _

 

_ Gabe: who is this? _

 

_ Unknown Number: Opal Morrison, Jack Morrison’s 2nd youngest sister _

 

_ Unknown Number: I’d like to donate one of my kidneys to him.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hm hm hmmmmm seems like some of you guys forgot that along with jack's dad, a certain sister shares his blood type too
> 
> but that's okay! i'm sure you guys are pleased to see Jack might get a happy ending after all


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last official chapter before the epilogue, the plot for that epilogue will be obviously revealed at the end. 
> 
> No explicit NSFW scenes but some implications and mentions are made
> 
> Enjoy <3
> 
> also you might have noticed the title change, honestly I was never a huge fan of the previous title, I prefer the simplicity of the new one c;

It had appeared that Jack’s sister wasn’t giving him much of a choice, she had flown out to Philadelphia with her boyfriend before she’d even texted Gabriel about her desire to donate a kidney to Jack. He attempted to refuse, but she threatened to remove his kidneys herself with a pocket knife and her six months of minimal pre-med knowledge. Stubbornness seemed to run in the Morrison family.

 

She seemed to be a nice enough girl however, she was incredibly ecstatic to finally meet Gabriel, “Jackie’s got good taste in guys!” was the first thing she’d said to him. He definitely saw the similarities between her and Jack, other than the quite obvious appearance. They were both literal rays of sunshine, Gabriel could just imagine them prancing around in a field of daisies and singing Owl City songs or whatever else white people listened to. She was significantly shorter than Jack however, she couldn’t stand at much taller than 5’2. Her boyfriend seemed to be the exact opposite, he was a relatively stoic person, a man of few words as well, choosing to stand behind his vertically challenged girlfriend in silence for the better part of their visit to Jack’s crowded room. The only times he had ever spoken were to talk to Jack or Opal, “Think you’ll be out of here soon? We still haven’t gone on that drunken tractor ride.” The man said with a smirk tugging at his lips, Jack grinned back, “I think I should be out soon after the transplant, but Asher..I think you’ve forgot dad probably doesn’t want to see me, let alone borrow his tractor.” Asher shrugged and patted Jack on the shoulder, “It’s no problem, your dad doesn’t like me very much these days either.” 

  
  


The blonde raised an eyebrow, but Opal quickly covered her boyfriend’s mouth before he could say anything, “Anywaaaays…” Her blue eyes looked for an escape, averting to Greyson, “Hey Grey! Pal! Friendo! How are you doing?” The brunette boy glanced up from an extra folding chair, shrugging, “Could be better, you?” Gabriel snorted at his response, it was very clear that his uncomfortableness was because of Gabe. Jack had told him everything about what had happened the past few days, including Greyson’s judgements. Needless to say, Gabriel was incredibly displeased. 

 

When Greyson had entered Jack’s room the next morning, Gabriel had gone completely off on him. He yelled at him for meddling in their relationship, which he had absolutely no business doing. He yelled at him for still trying to hold Jack on a chain when Greyson was the one that had rejected him. If Gabriel had the choice, he would’ve punched the guy square in the face, but he knew Jack would be upset had Gabriel gotten banned from the hospital. 

 

“Sorry to hear that, but I’m doing  _ great!” _ she said excitedly, “I get to meet my future brother-in-law  _ and  _ give a kidney to save my brother’s life!” Asher snorted, wrapping an arm around her, “You are the only person I’ve ever met to be excited about having surgery.” She stuck her tongue out at him, “Yeah, but you love me.” He sighed, leaning down to kiss her cheek, “Yeah, yeah.” Asher ran a hand through his unkempt brunette hair, letting out a sigh, “We should probably get you admitted before they run out of rooms.” He suggested to Opal, Jack nodding in agreement. Angela entered the room, holding a clipboard, flipping through a few pages to find what appeared to be Opal’s patient information, “Alright then Miss Starr! We need to run some tests first as a pre-surgery precaution. If you and your fiancé will just step this way, we’ve found a room for you-”

 

“Hold up,  _ fiancé? _ ”

 

Opal hesitantly laughed, “Surprise…?”

 

Gabriel groaned and threw his head in his hands, “Who the fuck  _ isn’t  _ getting married?” 

  
  


~ 

 

Jack’s surgery was scheduled for noon the next day, he’d asked for Gabriel to stay with him that night, and Gabriel had no choice but to comply. They’d found themselves in a position similar to the one they’d been in the night before, noses pressed against one another as Jack cupped the darker man’s face, who held onto the blonde like it was the last name. “I still can’t believe my sister got freaking  _ engaged  _ and didn’t tell me til now, I mean, she’s 18 for christ’s sake..” He whispered, looking down in confusion and slight anger. Gabriel knew that the prospect of his sister getting engaged wasn’t what bothered Jack, it was the fact she had failed to let him know that it had even happened. Gabriel frowned, “ _ Mi amor,  _ I’m sure she was going to tell you eventually...but all that really matters is that he makes her happy. Now let’s stop talking about your sister’s future and discuss our own, hm?” Jack grinned with a nod, “Since I won’t need to have dialysis done three times a week...what are we going to do with all that free time?” He asked suggestively, waggling his eyebrows. Gabriel teasingly poking his nose in response, “I think you already have something in mind,  _ güero _ .” 

 

Jack smiled, “But about our future...haven’t we established it already? We live together, you drive me to my doctors appointments, you’ve watched me throw up, you’ve been thrown up on, you still call me cute when I’m sweaty and grimy in the morning, you still kiss me when I have morning breath, I mean...Gabe, we’re practically married.” Gabe laughed at the memory, Jack’s overeating had finally caught up with him one day and he’d ended up throwing up the homemade  _ Menudo _ that Gabriel had made for him, all over the Latino. 

 

Jack had said that the fact Gabriel was still willing to have sex with him that night was a miracle. 

 

“Would you like to be actually married?” He offered, Jack smiled and softly pressed his lips against Gabriel’s, “Maybe one day, after I try to fix things with my family, and we give our relationship a bit more time to develop? I think that’s a fair offer.” Gabriel nodded, wolfishly grinning at Jack who grinned back. 

 

“Jack Reyes”

 

“Gabriel Morrison” 

 

“I’ll compromise,  _ pendejo _ , joint name.”

 

“Gabriel Morrison-Reyes”

 

“Jack Reyes-Morrison” 

 

Jack pulled out Gabriel’s wallet from the man’s jeans pocket. He extracted a quarter from the leather compartment, “We’ll flip a coin.” Gabe nodded in agreement, “I call heads.”

 

“Very well then, Gabriel Morrison-Reyes” Jack teased, he sat up to face his end table, turning on the lamp that sat atop of it. He flipped the coin, making the sound similar to a  _ clink _ as it landed on the plastic surface of the small table. 

 

It landed on tails

 

Gabriel let out a dissatisfied huff before slinging an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder. 

 

“Well, I  _ guess  _ Morrison-Reyes sounds better than Reyes-Morrison.”

 

~

 

During Jack’s surgery the next day, Gabriel was forced to sit in the “ICU Family Room” along with Asher, who still hadn’t said a mere word to Gabriel. Gabriel was aware that it likely wasn’t his fault, Asher seemed to be like a socially conscious kind of guy, and Jack had mentioned to him before that he seemed to have had a rough past. His mom had died when he was very young, his dad had rejected him as his son, he had become addicted to drugs and alcohol, it was amazing how Asher had lived to recover and to tell the tale, even though it was Jack and Opal who did all of the talking.

 

Gabriel had his mouth agape as if he were to say something, but he was surprised to hear Asher cut him off. 

 

“So uh, how did you and Jack meet exactly? Or maybe start dating is a better question?” He hesitated, Gabriel smirked at his question, this guy wasn’t as intimidating once he’d manage to croak out a single word.

 

“You’ve known Jack awhile, yeah?”

 

“Mhm”

 

Gabriel laughed as he mused on the memory of first meeting Jack, “You ever notice how that gringo’s got that sunshiny aura about him that’s impossible to resist, no matter how much you want to? It’s like you’re a fucking magnet and he’s a steel refrigerator, you just can’t help but get closer to him. That’s pretty much our story, nothing all that interesting other than the fact Jack Morrison made me realize I liked not only girls but guys too.” 

 

“Well, I’ve known a few of Jack’s boyfriends, all relatively short term. I’m pretty sure it was because he was still hung up on that piece of shit that desperately wants to stick his dick inside him now. You seem to be the one he speaks most highly of…” Asher grinned as he began to mimic the blonde, “He’s  _ amazing  _ at cooking, really warm to cuddle, gives really good kisses, and has the most  _ gorgeous _ and  _ thickest  _ thighs I have ever seen in my life. Is this what love feels like, Asher? When you want them to cuddle you but also want them to crush your head between their thighs?”

 

Gabriel flustered at the end part, Jack had made all of those points very clear to him, but  _ especially  _ the thighs. There wasn’t a time in which Jack had sucked him off without leaving a few hickeys between his thighs for good measure. It pissed him off, Gabriel was meant to be the dominant one, he was not meant to be as red as a ruby while Jack slowly kissed up his inner thigh, sky blue eyes gently staring up to lock with brown ones. 

 

_ “Q-quit that, idiota!”  _ was what he would say, but Jack would never listen, not that Gabriel ever truly minded.

 

Asher snickered at Gabriel’s visible embarrassment, “Anyways, I gotta admit it’s pretty nice to see Jack happy. His life has been kinda shit in the past, maybe not ‘dead mom, deadbeat dad, addicted to heroin at age 15’ bad but shitty kidneys and a homophobic dad is up there too.” Gabe nodded in agreement. 

 

It wasn’t long before a nurse came in to let the two of them know that their significant others had just gotten out of surgery.

 

~

 

Asher and Gabriel were naturally the first ones to arrive at the Morrison’s shared ICU room, the former seeming incredibly relieved that Opal had made it out alive, despite the procedure being incredibly undangerous. He’d practically pounced on the petite blonde as soon as she came into his line of sight, peppering her with kisses as she struggled to even sit up. Gabriel opted for a softer approach, delicately taking Jack’s hand in his own. Jack weakly smiled up at Gabriel, “Hey…” He mumbled, his voice slightly hoarse from the anesthesia. Gabriel leaned down to kiss his forehead, “How’s it feel to have a working kidney,  _ cariño?”  _

 

“Weird, can I have the old ones back?” The blonde joked, Opal glared over at him and shook her head. “You’re keeping that kidney whether you like it or not.” Gabriel laughed, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him.” 

 

Gabriel’s visit to Jack was brief, as Jack had quickly fallen asleep. He supposed it was high time to clean their mess of an apartment for Jack’s return, so with that he’d gone on his way.

 

~

 

It was around 2 in the morning when Jack had noticed footsteps edging closer to his room, he had hoped they were Gabriel’s, but they were Greyson’s, much to his disappointment. He wasn’t sure exactly  _ why  _ Greyson would decide that 2 AM was a good time to pay Jack Morrison another visit, but he did anyways. “I figured we should talk.” Jack had raised an eyebrow at the brunette, “What is there to talk about?” 

 

“I just want you to tell me exactly where we went wrong.”

 

“Does you fucking me and then telling me to screw off ring a bell?”

 

Greyson sighed, “After that I mean, you didn’t seem excited to see me when I first came to visit.” Jack scoffed at that, “You tore me to pieces, of fucking course I wasn’t excited to see you, I knew you’d just try to fuck my life up  _ again. _ ” Greyson furrowed his brow, “Jack…”

 

“It took me 24 years of my life to realize that you’re actually really shitty, you know that? You didn’t like to see me happy, if everything wasn’t about you you’d go batshit and tear me apart from whatever was taking more than 1% of my attention. I was willing to talk to you because I thought you might’ve actually grown the fuck up, but you haven’t. You’re still trying to pull me by a leash and tear me away from whatever makes me at least a little happy. So no, I wasn’t excited to see you. And I’m certainly not excited to see you now, especially because I thought you were my fucking  _ boyfriend  _ who promised to get me cookies from that fucking 24 hour cookie shop nearby.” 

 

“And why him? What makes him so special?”

 

“Does it surprise you that I go after non-white guys that aren’t total pieces of shit?”

 

“He  _ yelled  _ at you, right before you were legally dead for a minute!”

 

“And he  _ apologized _ , something I have never seen you do before, I’m happy and I’m not letting you fuck that up again, so just go.” 

 

Greyson did what he was told, done with arguing with Jack. That was the last time he saw him for a long time. 

 

~

 

Lena had driven Jack back to his apartment a few days later, Gabriel insisted on staying put at their apartment in preparation for a surprise. Jack was currently looking at the papers of his nephorologist that he would be seeing occasionally. He was also examining his anti-rejection medicine that he would be taking for a long while. While there was a lot he’d have to do to make sure he did not reject his new kidney, he would much rather have that than dialysis constantly and the possibility of dying at any time. 

 

“You excited to see lover boy? Wonder what he’s got planned for you!” She said with a hum, fingers drumming against the steering wheel as they sat in traffic. “He’s probably gonna strut into the living room wearing only booty shorts that say  _ juicy  _ on the back of them.”

 

“Would you enjoy that?”

 

“I mean, maybe.” 

 

Lena chuckled, “I’m sure you’ll love it, whatever it is.” Jack smiled and nodded, “I’m sure I will too.” 

 

When they’d arrived, Jack had quickly given Lena a goodbye hug before grabbing his things, charging into the building. The elevator was too slow for his tastes, he impatiently tapped his foot against the tile until the metal doors slid open, pulling his apartment key out of his pocket and quickly pacing down the hallway, shaky hands making it difficult to get the key in the lock, when he finally succeeded, he swung open the door to reveal things looking relatively ordinary. He squinted and scanned the room, it was subtle, but something actually seemed to be a bit different. There were picture frames on the walls, coffee tables, and desks that weren’t normally there before. 

 

“Shit, thought you wouldn’t be here until later.” 

 

Jack’s eyes quickly jerked towards Gabriel, who was holding two other picture frames with a grin. “Sorry it’s not much, but when I went to your dad’s house, I noticed there wasn’t a lot of...happy family looking pictures, especially not of you...so..” Gabriel crossed his arms and cursed at himself, “God, this is so cheesy…but, take a look at them I guess.” Jack did as suggested, the first picture he saw was one of himself, Gabriel, Lena, and Amélie. They’d all gone ice skating together soon after the latter two had arrived back from Europe, in the picture, Jack was holding Gabriel’s hands on the rink. Gabriel was clinging onto dear life, likely three seconds away from falling on his ass. Lena was the one taking the picture, a selfie in which Amélie was placing a purple kiss on her girlfriend’s cheek, while Jack and Gabriel were in the background. The second was a picture from Christmas, Gabriel’s mother must’ve taken it. Jack was slightly tipsy, he’d been eating dessert, a slight bit of whip cream on his upper lip, Gabriel had wiped it off with the pad of his thumb. He smiled at his own facial expression, wide eyed and flustered as Gabriel seemed to be looking stoic. The third picture he saw was likely taken by one of Gabriel’s sisters at Christmas, it was when they were walking to the church. It was a picture of them from behind, Jack taking hold of Gabriel’s arm and resting his head on his shoulder. 

 

“Yeah, I gotta admit I liked that one too.” Jack turned around to face Gabriel, wrapping his arms around his neck and placing a kiss on his lips, “Thank you.” He whispered as Gabriel kissed him back, “You’re welcome,  _ mi amor.” _

 

Their kisses were normally sweet, and this one was no exception. Jack kissed the corners of his lover’s mouth when he’d speak words of endearment in Spanish, something that Jack loved despite not knowing a lick of the language. Gabriel had lifted up the blonde, who instinctively wrapped his legs around Gabriel’s strong waist. “Someone miss me being at home?” Jack teased between kisses, Gabriel had placed Jack’s mouth against his own again, refusing to break until the two of them hit the cushioned couch.

 

“Yeah well, a picture and my right hand can never beat the real thing.” Jack snorted and playfully shoved his boyfriend, who smirked back at the boy below him, “I’m sure you missed being alone with me more, can’t even use your own hand in a hospital.” Jack shrugged, “You’d be surprised” Gabriel scrunched his nose at that, before brown eyes quickly lit up. “This might sound odd but I need you to close your eyes and hold out your hand, palms down.” Jack raised an eyebrow, but did as he was told.

 

Gabriel pulled a small, silver ring from his pocket. “Alright, Jack Morrison…” He grinned as he slowly slid the ring onto the man’s finger, “Will you pre-marry me?” Jack’s eyes popped open as looked down, “I’ll get you something nicer when I officially ‘pop the question’ but I figure it’d do for now.” Jack smiled, “You’re a dork, Reyes. But yes, I would love to…’pre-marry’ you.” Gabriel wrapped his arms around Jack, placing kisses to his cheek as he felt the man still smiling into his shoulder. 

They soon resumed their previous pace of kisses, Gabriel moving his lips to press against Jack’s neck as a dark hand slid up his shirt, dark hands brushing against the small of his back, but the door had opened with a 

 

_ Click! _

 

“The explosive Jameson Fawkes has returned from his 3 month trip to Australia! Better get your ass out here and help me Gab-” 

 

Gabriel turned his head to look at Jamie, a displeased look on his face. Jamie awkwardly staring at the two of them, rubbing the back of his neck as his face began to flush from embarrassment. 

 

“So I guess that’s a thing now...I’m not allowed to sleep on your couch anymore, am I?”

 

“Jamie, get the fuck out.” Gabriel said through gritted teeth, Jamie grabbed his bags as he headed out into the hallway, but not without a “Use condoms and lube!” and a cackle. Jack seemed to be more amused than Gabe, who’d gotten up to slam the door shut and lock it. “I’d say where were we, but I’ll be amazed if you’re still in the mood after that.”

 

“Well, those tight pants are sure makin’ it hard not to be”

  
  


“Pervert” Gabe teased as he headed back to the couch, being pulled down by Jack, “You love my pervertedness”

 

“I guess I do”

 

~

 

Jack had headed down to the lobby to get the mail at around 8 AM, it was normally just junk mail, but sometimes there’d be bills or something else worthwhile. He’d opened the door of the small compartment, just as he’d expected. Junk mail and bills, but there was something that stood out to him. A small white envelope, written in cursive, addressed to “Gabriel and Jack Morrison-Reyes”, he grinned at the name, they were only “pre-married” but the thought of the name made him feel warm in the pit of his stomach. Inside of the envelope was a picture of Jesse and Hanzo, labeled with 

 

“Save the Date, May 26, 2018” 

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> McHanzo wedding epilogue hope y'all are for fluff ahoy and lots of gay boys
> 
> Thank you so much for helping me get this far, the support has been amazing as I've never been very confident in my writing. I hope you all enjoyed the main story and prepare for the epilogue that is to come <33333333


	15. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The epilogue is here! Fluff and cuteness warning <333
> 
> This entire story has been so fun to write and I didn't expect it to get at least semi-popular, I hope you all enjoy the written ending of Jack and Gabe's long and crazy ass story, but in endgame terms, their story is f a r from over. 
> 
> Hope you all like!
> 
> Please let me know of any mistakes as I've had very little time for a beta read!

Gabriel Reyes has been dating Jack Morrison for 518 days, has been “pre-married” to him for around 465 of those days. He wondered when the appropriate time for Gabriel to ask Jack to actually marry him was, there’d be a few times that seemed alright for a proposal, but none of them were perfect, Jack deserved only the best of the best. He’d already spent 3 years worth of savings on a ring that he’d been carrying around for almost 2 months now, hoping that the right moment would come around. He refused for tonight to be that moment, there was no way he would propose to Jack at Jesse McCree and Hanzo Shimada’s wedding, Jesse would never let him see the end of it. He could hear it in that grating accent of his already,

 

_ Ain’t ya glad you agreed to be in my wedding? Yer gettin’ married now!  _

 

Gabriel wasn’t exactly sure just what moment he was looking for, but it had to be something special. A moment that showed just  _ everything  _ Gabriel Reyes loved about Jack Morrison. The issue with that was the fact that was every moment. Every moment with Jack Morrison playfully nipping at his neck as he ruffled the blonde’s hair and picked on him for being a sap showed that every petty fight that quickly turned into the air escaping from his lungs as he’d remembered that night at that hotel was worth it. 

 

The screams of  _ “Jack, Jack, JACK!” _ as he pounded against the blonde’s bedroom door in tears would slowly turn into whispers as Gabriel clung to the smaller man, who’d held him close in return.  _ “I’m here, love. I’m here and I love you, okay? I love you so much, Gabi.” _ Sobbing into Jack Morrison’s powder blue t-shirt as he softly laced his fingers through his hair until they’d both fallen asleep were moments in which Gabriel had shown complete weakness and submission, something reserved only for Jack. 

 

“Gabe, need yer help!” 

 

The man glared over towards Hanzo’s husband-to-be, who’d been struggling with a crimson tie for a good five minutes. Gabriel groaned, “You’re what, like 25? How the fuck do you not know how to put on your own tie?” Jesse grinned and shrugged, “Han usually does it for me! But I can’t see him ‘til we get to the altar, so you gotta help me!” 

 

“Oh my mijo is all grown up!” Jesse’s mother cried, wrapping him in a crushing squeeze, “I hope Hanzo is good to you, my dear” she said, “Ma, he is and he will be” he assured as she continued to embrace her middle son. Gabe’s mother glanced over, “Gabi, when are  _ you  _ going to get married?”

 

“Oh jesus christ, mamá” He said with a groan, resulting in Mrs. Reyes snapping at him for using the lord’s name in vain. Jesse’s mom smiled over towards Gabriel, “Jack is good for you, Gabe. You should really consider it.” Gabe let out another groan as a flush rushed into his cheeks, “I’m sorry, I thought this was  _ Jesse’s _ wedding, not a  _ let’s pester Gabe about getting married  _ party.” Jesse snorted, his mom releasing him from a hug. 

 

Lena had been texting Amélie about Hanzo’s activities at that moment, apparently he was in the same boat as Jesse. His mother was currently sobbing as Hana attempted to do his hair. Angela seemed to be in a similar predicament as Hana as she tried to comb through Jesse’s chestnut hair. Jesse’s younger sister was pestering him about whether or not Hanzo’s younger brother, Genji, was single. He was not.

 

“Sorry kiddo, he’s datin’ someone. His boyfriend’s actually here, real nice fella, never seen him mad before” the young girl groaned, “What about the blonde one? The one with the blue eyes-”

 

“Hush before Gabe kicks your ass” 

 

Jesse’s mom complained about his language as his younger sister giggled. Gabriel pulled out his phone, thumbing a message out to Jack,

 

_ Gabe: hey _

 

_ Gabe: hows groomsmenning going? _

 

_ Jack: Fine I guess _

 

_ Jack: I don’t like the gold tie though _

 

_ Jack: Kinda wish they’d let us choose tie color, red’s a nice contrast to my complexion. _

 

_ Jack: Wearing gold makes me feel like a fucking corn cob, you’d look much better in gold. _

 

_ Gabe: im sure you look fine _

 

_ Jack: Just fine? ;p _

 

_ Gabe: im sure you look good enough to fuck in the house of the lord _

 

_ Gabe: happy? _

 

_ Jack: A little _

 

_ Gabe: dont get any ideas pretty boy _

 

_ Jack: You’re making it hard not to _

 

~

  
  


The ceremony began not long after, Jesse was shaking with every step he took, his mother on one arm, his father on the other. He’d given Gabriel an earful on the possibility that Hanzo would say no and run off like it was the beginning of a romcom. Gabriel straight up told him how stupid and idiotic that was. Even Mrs. McCree agreed with that. 

 

When they’d reach the altar, Jesse was practically a waterfall of tears, even Hanzo had shed a tear or two, which was more shocking to Gabriel as he’d expected Jesse to be a blubbering pool of emotions. “ _ Cristo,  _ shoot me if I’m like that when we get married” he’d whispered to Jack, without a thought. Jack began to flush, looking wide eyed at Gabriel at the mention of marriage. They hadn’t discussed the prospect marriage at all since Gabriel had “pre-proposed” to him, but Jack softly smiled and nodded at his boyfriend’s comment. He was likely focusing on the fact Gabriel had implied he had the intention of marrying him rather than the “shoot me” part. 

 

Gabriel wanted to be annoyed that Jack seemed to be getting emotional at the exchanging of the rings and their “newly wedded kiss”, but at the end of it all he ended up throwing an arm around him and telling him how much of a sap he was, which was a regular occurrence. The taking of the wedding photos was rather quick, apparently everyone there just wanted to get it over with and get to the reception. 

 

When they’d arrived, everyone seemed to be eagerly awaiting the newly marrieds. The rest of the wedding party had to make their entrance into the hall however, and Genji certainly wanted to make sure his and Zenyatta’s appearance was duly noted. He’d ran in with the smaller man on piggyback, whom seemed too at peace for comfort. The green haired man carefully set him down, before back flipping topped off with a dab. He ran off with Zenyatta before his brother could kill him. Gabriel had practically tangoed Jack into the hall, which was unrehearsed, clearly told by Jack’s surprise. Gabriel’s family cheered him on as he almost literally swept his boyfriend off his feet. As everyone else entered, the crowd eagerly anticipated Jesse and Hanzo’s speech. Gabriel and Jack sat by his family, Mrs. Reyes giving her almost-son-in-law a hug before placing a kiss on his cheek.

 

“Jack, mijo! It’s so great to see you again!” She exclaimed, Jack’s smile brighter than the sun at the nickname. The first time Mrs. Reyes had referred to Jack as mijo, the boy was so overjoyed that he practically started crying. “You too, Mrs. Reyes!” He said excitedly, hugging her back. “What am I? Chopped liver?” Gabriel spat, his mother grinning and hugging him as well. “Oh how could I forget Jack’s boyfriend?” She teased, placing a kiss on her son’s cheek as well. “Have your speech planned out for Jesse?” His father said, clapping him on the back. Jack seemed to shrink at the sight of Mr. Reyes, they hadn’t talked much, Gabriel knew that his dad had no problem with Jack but an incident with the word  _ papi  _ during a family barbeque over the summer had left Jack permanently terrified of Mr. Reyes. Gabe nodded, “Yeah, hopefully it’ll embarrass the hell outta him”

 

“That’s my boy!” Mr. Reyes said proudly, throwing an arm around him. 

 

~

 

Gabriel was called up for a speech not long after, he wouldn’t even admit to Jack that he’d spent weeks preparing and memorising it. Despite the fact Jesse had annoyed the hell out of him since they were kids, he did consider him to be quite a close friend and being his best man was a secret honor to him.

 

He stood by the head table, where Jesse and Hanzo sat. Jesse grinned up at him, “You better not mention the pot brownies”

 

“I’m mentioning the brownies”

 

“Fuck…” He mumbled

 

Gabe took the microphone from the table, taking a sip of water. Gabriel wasn’t big on giving speeches, but Jack had insisted he’d be in the audience encouraging him, plus it would mean a lot to Jesse, so here he was, taking a deep breath as a room of 300 people stared on at him.

 

“First thing I’d like to say is, shout out to Mr. and Mrs. McCree for creating my childhood best friend that would, end up getting suspended in high school because I convinced him to climb inside of an empty trashcan and let me push him down the hallway and practiced pickup lines naked in our dorm room so often that I thought he might’ve had a thing for me.” The crowd let out a light laughter at Gabriel’s comment, Jack smiling over at him before giving a thumbs up. “And thank  _ god  _ Hanzo Shimada exists to keep him in check so I no longer have to” He added on, Jesse grinning and patting Hanzo on the back. Gabriel cleared his throat as he continued on, “The day Jesse first met Hanzo, he burst into our dorm room that night and screamed at the top of his lungs that he was in love, I honestly thought he’d just downed 15 pot brownies again.”

 

Jesse nervously laughed, glancing over towards the McCree family, half who were laughing as well and the other half whom looked shocked that Gabriel had just implied that Jesse had once eaten 15 pot brownies. Hanzo smirked at this. 

 

“I thought he was being ridiculous, because this was the actual first time he’d ever seen Hanzo. They hadn’t even spoken and Jesse was claiming that he just saw the man he was going to marry, I called him an idiot for this, but apparently he proved me wrong,  _ again”  _ Gabriel put an emphasis on that last word, adding a grumble along. Jesse grinned, nodding in satisfaction. 

 

“Because of that, I start to think if maybe I was the dumb one for not taking his word for it” Gabriel sighed, muttering under his breath.  _ God dammit Morrison, you’ve made me a sap.  _ “While I taught Jesse most of what he knows, including his cheesy pickup lines, he’s taught me a few things of his own. The prospect of love at first sight was one both he and Hanzo helped me understand, or accept at the very least. A conversation I had with Hanzo almost a year and a half ago left a lasting impact on me…” 

 

Gabriel grimaced at himself, that last part wasn’t planned, even Jack was able to tell. The blonde raised an eyebrow, Gabriel nodded to signify that he was alright. 

 

“He’d told me to just think about the person I love with someone else, which, I would imagine you all can at least imagine what that feels like” he added on with a nervous chuckle, it had felt like it was above a thousand degrees in the hall at that moment. There was no turning back now, might as well continue with the story and get ambushed by the rest of his family for saying such sappy things. “He’d told me to just imagine telling the person I loved that I liked them, and it’s not just Hanzo who’s helped me….heh..” He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, the crowd seemed to be enticed but good lord he could feel his parent’s teasing just waiting, “For a day I thought uh..that person was dead, and Jesse drove us back from Indiana to Philadelphia, in a blizzard, which is why we had to take the long route which was around 1,500 miles. I was practically sobbing the entire time, including at the Denny’s at midnight, where he was very blatant about why I was upset to a waitress who clearly had no idea what to say.” 

 

The audience was captivated with his story apparently, and Jack was as well, Gabriel soon realized he hadn’t discussed any of what happened that night with Jack. “I suppose that...the moral of the story is that while they sometimes annoy the crap out of me with their lovey-dovey “darlin’” stuff, there’s a lot I would probably be without if I didn’t know them, so uh...thanks Jesse and Hanzo, congratulations” He ended, the audience applauded his speech as he scampered back to his family table, reclaiming his seat next to Jack, who quickly took Gabriel’s calloused hand into his own. 

 

“You didn’t mention any of that to me”

 

“Wasn’t sure when the right time to tell you that story was, maybe at my best friend’s wedding wasn’t the best place but it sorta just slipped-”

 

Jack had cut him off with a kiss, his hands lightly placing themselves on his cheekbones. Gabriel felt himself grin through their kiss, placing his hands on the blonde’s shoulders. Gabe’s brother’s stuck their tongues out at him, 

 

“Quick tongue fucking him, Gabe”

 

“Get a room!”

 

Gabriel growled at his brothers as he split apart from his kiss with the boy that had the softest, pink lips. “Don’t you two have girls to harass you thirsty ass cunts?” 

 

“Language!” His mother scolded, Gabriel looked displeased as he pointed out the foul language of his eldest brother, which his mother dismissed. “You’re my little baby boy though!” She cried, throwing her arms around him, “You’ve grown up so fast!” 

 

Mrs. Reyes was quite a sentimental woman, Gabriel loved his mother very much but being referred to as “Mama’s baby boy” constantly wasn’t exactly his cup of tea. 

 

Shortly after the speeches and toasts were done, came the first dance. Gabriel attempted not to laugh as Mrs. McCree lead a fumbling Jesse in a dance, Hanzo seemed to have a better concept as he lightly twirled his petite mother before they continued their dance. However, once Jesse and Hanzo came together, it was almost like they were two puzzle pieces that had come together. He wanted to grimace at how in love they were, but Jack Morrison’s soft smile and dreamy sigh had almost encouraged him to sweep the blonde off his feet at that very moment. Jack glanced over at Gabriel’s parents as stood up, “Mr. Reyes, would you mind if I offered your beautiful wife a dance?” He said with a wink, Gabriel snorted, he had always been such a charmer, but he knew that Jack was internally screaming at the sight of Mr. Reyes. 

 

“Not at all, Mr. Morrison” He said with a grin, his wife standing up to take Jack’s hand as he led her to the dance floor. He smirked as Jack softly swayed with her to a slow love song, he knew his mother would quickly take control after a few minutes. 

 

“You’re in love with this boy, aren’t you mijo?” 

 

He turned his head to look over at his father, “Are you okay with that?” he’d asked. Mr. Reyes wasn’t homophobic at heart, but he’d been raised by an even bigger Catholic family than his current one he’d started. “I will say it was an odd thought for me at first, but whoever makes you happy is who I think you’re meant to be with” Gabriel nodded, waiting a few moments before standing up.

 

“Mind if I steal my boyfriend back, ma?” 

 

She grinned, “All yours, mijo” 

 

Jack smiled as he placed his hands on his shoulders, but Gabriel had opted to hold him close instead, softly swaying to the music. “Thought’d you wanna tango again” He said with a laugh, “Not really feelin’ anything fancy” Gabriel mumbled into the top of Jack’s head, “I guess that’s fair” Jack said with a smile, resting his head under Gabriel’s chin. Gabe did end up sweeping the smaller man across the floor, as he knew it was one of Jack’s favorite things to be led in a dance by Gabriel. 

 

_ God that’s so gay _

 

Amélie asked to speak with Gabriel in private, leaving Jack to dance with Lena. 

 

“I’m thinking of asking Lena to marry me”

 

He glanced over to the dark haired woman, looking legitimately surprised. “Didn’t take you as the kind to  _ want  _ to be married” the woman shrugged, “Maybe I wasn’t, but for fucks sake she talked about our future when we first started dating. And recently I realized that all of her sappy, “ _ let’s have one trillion babies, love!”  _ crap actually sounds...nice” Gabriel snorted, “Guess we’re kinda in the same boat then” she raised an eyebrow as Gabriel pulled a small, velvet box from his pocket. 

 

“Woah, were you planning on proposing to him tonight?” She asked, Gabriel just shrugged in response, “I don’t know, I just like to have it on me in case I feel like, y’know, the right moment’s there” The girl smirked, giving him a hard slap on the back, “Good luck then, Mr. Morrison-Reyes” she said with a cackle, leaving Gabriel to groan and bury his head in his hands. 

 

~

 

During the cutting of the cake, Jesse had practically smashed the piece of red velvet cake in his husband’s face. Gabriel had expected Hanzo to get angry, but instead he’d laughed and done the same to Jesse. Jack had scarfed down both his  _ and  _ Gabriel’s piece, Gabe wasn’t a huge fan of sweets, he was more of a savory kind of guy, while Jack made it very clear he was fine with both. More dancing and light drinking ensued, two families and one giant group of friends united on a crowded dance floor to sing the most stereotypical wedding songs that Gabe was surprised Hanzo had allowed to be played. 

 

One of the last events was the very looked forward to “corsage/ribbon tossing” 

 

The ribbon was meant to represent the ribbon in Hanzo’s hair, but obviously the tossing wasn’t very effective. The two had opted for something similar to a garter, a gold, elastic loop. Jesse and Hanzo had requested for the groups to split, one half on Hanzo’s side and the other on Jesse’s. 

 

Jack was on Hanzo’s side, Gabriel was on Jesse’s. 

 

Gabriel had ended up catching the “ribbon” without really intending to. It had actually landed on the top of his head, and he didn’t really get much of a choice but to accept victory. 

 

When it came time for Hanzo’s side to go, Jack was like a middle aged single woman. He’d practically  _ dived  _ for the corsage, he was more intent on receiving it than most girls on Hanzo’s side. Gabriel couldn’t help but smirk as Jack emerged from the crowd victorious, looking as if he’d just returned from a brutal war. They’d been dragged up onto the stage to be presented to the crowd, who cheered for the two. 

 

“Hm. Didn’t think you were  _ that  _ territorial, cariño.” He whispered to the blonde, who stifled a laugh, “Like  _ you’re  _ one to talk!”

 

The last thing that had to be done before the night was over, was a lantern lighting. It was kind of a send off, but was more to represent the coming together of two families, the McCrees and the Shimadas. Jack was about to step out the door when Gabriel grabbed his hand, “There’s a better viewing spot on a balcony upstairs” he suggested, Jack deciding to take his word for it and following him. 

 

He’d had an arm wrapped around Jack, the nocturnal spring breeze had clearly taken a toll on the man’s warmth, but that didn’t stop him from staring at wonder at the lanterns that were slowly floating towards the sky. 

 

“Did I ever tell you that I think you could be the love of my life?”

 

“Where the hell did that come from? Wait..could? Jesus christ are you implying you might leave me for...god what’s that white boy’s name again? Greyson?” 

 

Jack snorted and playfully shoved Gabriel, “No! That’s not what I meant, I mean...I guess weddings sorta make me reflect, on who we’re really meant to be with and stuff...like soulmates. Jesse and Hanzo are clearly destined for each other, do you think we might be?” 

 

“Jeez Jack, take me out to dinner before you load these weird destiny questions on me” He joked, Jack sighing, “That doesn’t really work if we’ve been dating a year and a half” 

 

“Your dick doesn’t count as dinner,  _ pendejo _ ”

 

“Oh my god, Gabe, stop” 

 

Gabriel barked with laughter as he pulled Jack closer against his side, “You didn’t answer me though…” The blonde man said quietly, Gabe groaned, “I’m about to give you an answer but I’m preparing myself for it because this’ll be the gayest shit I’ve ever said in my 25 years of life” He felt his hand shake as he reached into his pocket, “I’ve carried around this fucking thing for the past four months because I couldn’t decide on the perfect moment, I didn’t want anything to be planned, I just wanted that..just right..”God this is why I love Jack Morrison” moment. For the love of christ though, you make that literally every single fucking moment. I hold back cause  _ “Shit, what if there’s a better moment and I regret that last moment?”  _ but then I realize with the fact you nearly died multiple times in the beginning of us dating, I can’t just sit around and wait on my ass, which is fine because I don’t wanna wait anymore, 

Jack.”

 

“What are you getting at here?”

 

Gabriel took Jack’s pale hand into his own, slowly sliding off the thin silver band around his ring finger, “Let’s replace this shitty $10 ring with something better, hm?” he suggested. Gabe opened the box, revealing a slightly thicker, platinum ring. The edges were wrapped in small diamonds, and Jack was clearly starstruck. 

 

“Since you’re a sap, I know you want me to say it so…...god just fucking marry me, asshole!” 

 

Jack practically lept into his arms, legs wrapped around his waist and he squeezed onto his, now fiancé, tightly. “Jesus fuck Jack!” Gabriel said with surprise, just barely managing to catch him. Jack was silent as he buried his face into the shoulder of Gabriel’s suit, “Is that a yes?” He asked, Jack slowly nodding against the broad man.

 

“Oh for the love of fuck, are you crying?” He asked, Jack nodded yet again. He sighed, setting down the man to slide the new ring onto his finger, wiping away newly formed tears in the process. “If you cry on our wedding day, I’m killing you” 

  
  


Jack did end up crying

  
  


They both did

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for helping me get this far and I hope you guys enjoyed!
> 
> Check out two of my other stories!!!
> 
> Dad Wars (Ch 4/?): How Jack Morrison finds himself suffering after an argument with a fellow single father, Gabriel Reyes, about an altercation between their daughters, Lena Oxton-Morrison and Amélie Lacroix-Reyes
> 
> Oro (Ch 1/?): Apocalypse AU, Gabriel's a skilled mercenary with a pretty high bounty on his head and Jack's a lost kid on a mission.


End file.
